


After Ashes, There’s Still a Flame

by bottomchanyeol, dosmilkshake



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, EXO Ensemble - Freeform, Farmer!Kyungsoo, M/M, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-21
Updated: 2018-12-21
Packaged: 2019-09-24 03:18:42
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 34,240
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17093036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bottomchanyeol/pseuds/bottomchanyeol, https://archiveofourown.org/users/dosmilkshake/pseuds/dosmilkshake
Summary: Chanyeol knew fire. He saw fire. He felt fire, but Kyungsoo stoked flames he never learned how to tame.- This fanwork was written for round 2 of the bottom!Chanyeol fest [2018/19].





	After Ashes, There’s Still a Flame

**Author's Note:**

> IT’S DONE. I meant to finish this months ago, but life is menacing sometimes.  
> First off, to the very best beta, bless you. I don’t know how disastrous this piece would be without you, and I don’t even want to imagine it. You have been incredibly kind and patient and so willing to help me make it into what it is. I thank you from the bottom of heart *love and hugs to you*  
> Next, to the loml, this is no longer a birthday present, but a Christmas gift. I hope you enjoy it as much as I loved writing it.  
> Lastly, to the mods, you have been very patient with me, especially with the delaying of the title which was maybe the most struggling aspect of this entire piece, but I did. Thanks for doing this fest. I am very grateful to have the chance to participate with this.  
> Now, readers please enjoy my little baby child.

 

Prologue

 “Hold testing for Experiment 01,” a man in long white cloak says. The people in the laboratory step back, one glancing to stare into the two-way mirror where the man is standing behind, observing.

The man’s finger slides off the speaker button as the scientists inside the white-washed room back away from the lump on the table, cleaning up the room and throwing away the used needles. He watches in amazement as the glass of water in the corner of the room shakes. The liquid rises to an undistinguishable shape, constantly molding as dribbles of water drip down.

The man overlooking the room flashes his eyes over to lump on the table. The form of a young boy is lying limp on the table in a baby blue gown. The little boy’s left hand is flat, but the right is clenched, fingers flexing in time with the ball of water that changes form. The boy’s face is still, peaceful. He had passed out earlier when his oxygen levels dropped. He’s still somewhat conscious, enough to subconsciously control the water inside the laboratory.

“Doctor?” A timid voice breaks the man from the amazing progress of his experiments.

The man looks over to his assistant who is almost crouched behind the cracked door. The man’s glee deflates at the sight of his idiot assistant, “Come in, Moonhyuk.”

“Um, I have the updated profiles for the next batch of experiments. Experiment 61 showed exceptional responses yesterday. His body seems to be adjusting well to the chemicals, and his vitals are all stable.”

The Doctor acknowledges Moonhyuk’s presence and words with a short nod. He gestures to the window. “Take a look at this Moonhyuk. We’ve finally succeeded. This is Experiment 01, the wielder of water.” His eyes turn back to the boy, a pleased smile on his face.

Moonhyuk regards the boy and the little ball of water that floats in the air. “That’s incredible! All your plans are finally coming together. Wait until Armah gets the word of our success. They will never threaten us again.” Moonhyuk grins, delighted. He expects to find the Doctor next to him with the same expression, but he turns to see pits of black glaring at him. “Sir?”

“How many times do I have to explain to you that we were never threatened? The citizens of X2 think that this program is for their safety, that the military is developing an indestructible weapon that will show loyalty to the government. I made up that threat, so this program could get funding.”

“What do you mean, Doctor? If there is no threat, then why are we developing these children to become weapons?”

The Doctor laughs, his cackles hollow, bouncing off the metal-framed walls. “To consolidate power, of course. With these twelve children, we will be unstoppable. The entire galaxy will be in our hands.”

Moonhyuk stills, the realization sinking in his chest. “You’re going to take over the galaxy?” He mutters more to himself than the preoccupied male in the room.

The Doctor frowns at his cowering assistant. He expects praise for his devious plan or some begging to be his right-hand man, not to be questioned. “Did you really think I would go through all this trouble and ridicule and not get my revenge? I deserve to be lord of this galaxy. And with these boys,” he gestures to the folders strewn over the table, the profile of the Experiment 01 on the monitor, “I will take over the universe.”

The Doctor grabs a stamp from a drawer and slams it down on one of the opened folders with the printed information of Experiment 01. In bold, red letters states ‘APPROVED’. He presses on the speaker button again, “Take 01 to his living quarters. He may begin rigorous training starting tomorrow.”

The scientists in the laboratory exit, only to return with a hovering bed.

Moonhyuk turns away, “I don’t understand. If this was your plan all along, then why did you not inject yourself with the serum, why these younglings?”

The Doctor doesn’t bother to look at his assistant. His head is already throbbing from being questioned. He picks up the folder on top of the stack Moonhyuk brought. He clicks a few buttons on the monitor with his finger until the digital profile is pulled up on Experiment 61.

The blue screen glows over the Doctor’s face. Dark shadows form around the creases where his eyes sharpen, his dark smile curls deep into one side. He stares at the child’s face, chubby cheeks covering half the kids face in an innocent grin, big ears sticking out despite the wisps of hair covering the tips of his ears. In his profile, he is marked to be tested under fire. They’ve had the most failed experiments with fire. Most of the younglings had ended up dying during the testing process.

“If I could possess these powers, I would. However, the serum is too strong, too overpowering. It needs a young body to mold into. Younglings are young enough that they adapt faster, heal quicker, and they learn better. If I can control them, they are my only hope for success.” The Doctor pauses, “Bring Experiment 61, let’s see if he can handle the fire.”

 

Chanyeol has a stare down between the off-brand cereal and the over-priced, sugary goodness that promises to lower his cholesterol. He sighs, putting the brand name down and choosing the cheaper version. He needs the extra money anyway. Life is not always full of riches for the working musician. Making a title for yourself is not as easy as it sounds. Chanyeol knows because he practically begs for extra shifts at his second job when they’re offered.

Chanyeol checks each item off his grocery list, hunched over his cart as he lazily scans down the various aisles. Chanyeol slashes a carton of eggs as his last item on his list and picks the least busy cashier, offering a bright smile to the employee.

It is a normal day for Chanyeol. The sky above Sydney is bright and clear. The day before was misty, thick, heavy clouds dusting below. The gloomy, chilly weather made Chanyeol want to hole up in his home with his acoustic on his lap. Instead, he had done a double shift at the restaurant he works at.

It was fortunate because Chanyeol had zero groceries at home. If he was home with the grey weather, he would have chosen to stay inside and starve rather than going out to get food. Which is why, today, with the sun shining and lack of humidity, he woke up before his afternoon shift to grab a week’s worth of food at the supermarket.

Chanyeol helps unpack his cart, offering the items over to be scanned. His stomach is already grumbling despite Chanyeol weighing over his hunger with protein bars. He probably won’t have enough time to make an elaborate lunch before his shift, but he finally has bread, so a sandwich is his best bet to hold over until dinner arrives.

He is just about to hand over the carton of eggs to the cashier when he feels it. Each joint locks up, muscles tensing as the air around his stills. From his head to his toes runs an icy chill over his skin, sinking beneath the tissue. Like a candle that has been blown out, his body heat, the internal flame deep inside him that fuels his power, feels like it has been snuffed out. An aching rawness settles in the pits of his stomach.

It startles him, so much that the eggs he was handing over crash to the floor, the cracking just a distant gasp to him. Chanyeol watches as the yolks from the carton leak over his sneakers. Time seems to stop as he stands there. His brain tries to process why he suddenly feels so weak, why it feels like his heat inside him has vanished. It scares him.

Then, as if nothing ever happened, his skin prickles with warmth, his chest expanding as he inhales deeply. Shakily, Chanyeol draws a hand over his skin, and like normal, it is hot to the touch, his body a higher temperature than the average human’s.

His heartbeat rattles in his chest as he thinks through all situations as to why it felt like he had suddenly lost his power. His eyes widen, snapping up to face the shocked expression of the cashier.

“Sir? Are you all right?”

Chanyeol blinks to see the cashier gaping at him and the crushed eggs slowly leaking at his feet. She is halfway paused to call for someone, reaching to make sure he’s okay, and stance ready to run away. There’s fear mixed in with worry, and Chanyeol coughs, covering up his mess with a lie.

“Silly me. I just remembered I left the oven on. Ah, do you have paper towels, so I can clean this up?” He asks, beginning to collect the crushed eggs at his feet. He uses his hands while the girl cautiously grabs some towels underneath the counter as if Chanyeol was going to strike her.

Normally, Chanyeol would overzealously try to explain himself and to gain the trust of others. He’s been there a few times when he was all alone when his inexperience of human earth and zero contacts that were of a familiar face got to him. The anger had resulted in a lot of fear from the people around him. He made a resolution to prevent that from happening.

Now, it is a completely different story.

He’s never felt this before. And it can only mean that something terrible has happened.

After scooping the eggs in his hand, yolk oozing through his fingertips, Chanyeol pays for his items and a new carton of eggs as well and rushes home. He drops all the groceries off on the floor of the entrance way as soon as he walks through the door. He runs to his room even if it is only a few steps away and yanks open the door to his closet. His eyes wildly search for the trunk covered by rows of sneakers. The more he panics, the harder his heart pounds, the hotter his skin gets, and each time he blinks he sees fire coursing up his arm.

He tries to control his breathing, remembering the exercises he learned since he acquired his power. He can’t lose control. This is not the time. Chanyeol pushes aside his shoes, most were expensive investments of an entire paycheck he does not regret. His fingers fumble over the lock, racing to put in the numerical code. When he hears the tiny _click_ , he forces open the lid and his chest tightens when he sees the contents.

Inside, folded neatly is his suit, the one that resists fire, a deep burgundy that used to look menacing against the bright orange flames. A mask that was made to fit the exact dips, depth, and width of Chanyeol’s head rests atop the suit. There’s a crack at the temple, but otherwise still flawless. The mask covers over his eyebrows and temple, Pyrex glassware for his eyes, and a filter over his nose so he can breathe through the ash.

He hasn’t looked inside this trunk in years. He stacked his shoes on top, anything really, that blocked him from easily opening the trunk reminding him the story of the contents.

Beside Chanyeol’s specially designed suit is a photo of his twelve team members. All are decked out in their suits without the masks, standing shoulder to shoulder, grinning widely. This was before they knew the real reason behind their powers. It was the first time they were trying on their custom-made outfits. Chanyeol can see the whole day play out with them trying to adjust to the tight but non-constricting fabric. Each pulling at their leg, or secretly trying to _adjust_. However, there was excitement in all their eyes. No one could stop moving, checking each other’s suits and explaining how it enhances their power and protects them from each other.

Chanyeol’s suit has insulation to protect him from extreme cold which could subdue his power, but also allowed the flexibility to release heat. Most of his team members also have heat protectant. His fingers run over the sleek fabric of his suit in nostalgia, cold to the touch. His eyes move over to the little wristband with an encased glass screen. He turns it on by pressing his thumb against the glass.

“Identity,” a cold, mechanical voice calls out.

“Agent 8, Park Chanyeol.” Chanyeol’s words flow like he does this every day and not for the first time in years.

“Welcome, Agent 8.”

“Command: report location of team members.” Chanyeol is crouched over the trunk, bony knees pressing into the hard board of the trunk.

“Processing…” Chanyeol waits with bated breath, “Unable to locate agents. Agent 2 was last reported one hour, seventeen minutes ago to be on Earth, Lancaster, United Kingdom, coordinates: 54°02'39.0"N 2°48'04.5"W. No other identities are available.”

An hour ago. Chanyeol stills. That’s right before he felt the fire inside him disappear.

“Oh, no. No, no, no,” Chanyeol mutters under his breath. He can only think of one reason behind it, and it is the worst possible outcome. While growing up, Chanyeol was taught that their powers stemmed from his other team members. Together, as a team, they were stronger. They were connected, aware of each other in unique ways. Chanyeol’s heat, the fire, feeds from the strength of them together. The reason for it to flicker out…

Chanyeol shakes his head. He can’t let his mind jump to conclusions. Easing his inhales and exhales again, his voice comes out a bit shaky but heavy, “Command: most recent location of all agents.”

“Processing… Agent 1 last seen 10 years ago in Dubingių sen., Lithuania, coordinates: 55°04'48.9"N 25°21'11.8"E. Agent 2 was last reported one hour, seventeen minutes ago to be on Earth, Lancaster, United Kingdom, coordinates: 54°02'39.0"N 2°48'04.5"W. Agent 3 last seen 10 years ago in Dubingių sen., Lithuania, coordinates: 55°04'48.9"N 25°21'11.8"E. Agent 4 last seen 10 years ago in Dubingių sen., Lithuania, coordinates: 55°04'48.9"N 25°21'11.8"E…”

It continues on. Each agent, aside from Agent 2, last seen where they had all decided to part ways in Lithuania where they had been transported to thanks to Agent 11, along some country road in Europe. That is where they decided to take off the suits and part on their own paths without any communication. At the time, they didn’t want reminders of the past. They kept the things they had on their back: the suit and wristband, in case they were needed in an emergency. But to unite again was supposed to never occur, especially under these conditions.

The strange whereabouts of Agent 2, Luhan, is just as alarming as the odd occurrence of Chanyeol’s power at the market, probably even more so.

“Command: check messages.” Chanyeol presses his palm to his head. He needs some tea to help calm down.

“Three messages from Agent 2 to all. First message sent June 9, 2018.”

Exactly a week ago, Chanyeol thinks before Agent 2’s voice fills the closet. “Code 24, I think someone is after me. I don’t—ksch—” the recording sounds like heavy wind passing through, “know who, but if you get this, be alert. I think someone is hunting us down. Don’t compromise your identity!”

“Second message sent June 14, 2018.”

“I’ve been searching through minds around me, to see if there is anyone spying on me, but I can’t find anything. I can feel it though. Someone has a strong border. I suspect they know who I am, but I do not know about the rest of us. I will update if I have any new information. If you get this, please don’t come to find me. I don’t know how powerful they are and if this is a trap. The best thing to do is to find each other and unite. I miss you all.”

“Third message sent today at 10:21.”

A little over an hour ago. Chanyeol is afraid to listen, but his wristband is already playing the recording, showing the sound waves with heavy breathing and metal crashing.

“They found me! _Clang!_ I don’t think—oh god. Alert the others!” There’s a momentary silence where Chanyeol’s breath gets caught in his lungs. His palms sweating profusely, slicking up the screen of his wristband. Then, Luhan’s hushed whisper fills his small closet, “Okay, I think I’m safe for now. I don’t have time to explain, but you guys need to stay together. That’s the only—” Luhan stops speaking, breathing heavily. He sighs, “That’s the only way to— _No_!”

It cuts off. The harsh grind of metal being torn apart and Luhan’s shrill scream leaves a haunted echo in Chanyeol’s ears.

Chanyeol is frozen, shocked, torn, and in denial. He knows deep down what has happened to Agent 2, but he doesn’t want to believe it. It feels almost like yesterday they were helping each other train and eating together as a group in the mess hall. They were each other’s source of strength. Now, one is gone.

Then rage hits. It swells and swarms in his closet. Taking an innocent’s life is unjustifiable.  Agent 2, although sarcastic at most times, was caring and too thoughtful since he could read everyone’s thoughts. He was loyal and strong in his power, weak physically. Chanyeol used to exercise with him and go practice martial arts, so he could at least do some contact defensive fighting. None of them deserved to be killed, especially Agent 2. Whoever did this would pay.

Chanyeol feels like he is on the tip of a mountain. His emotions are boiling, foaming at the top just ready to explode in blaze of red and orange. He needs to get out. He needs… Chanyeol escapes his apartment and heads outside for fresh air. He wishes for the rain now to cool his skin that is turning a deep red, the heat in his body just itching to be released and consume something.

He hasn’t felt this need to expend his anger into flames in years. He’s only come close to losing control from his temper was when the youngest team member had been captured, tortured to answer questions about the team’s planned escape. When Chanyeol had seen the other’s weakened state and the bruises and marks on his skin, he almost made the entire building explode, if it hadn’t been for Agent 9. Agent 9 brought him back, cleared the fiery haze with cool palms on his hand. _Breathe with me Chanyeol, come on, breathe._

Chanyeol walks for a few hours just remembering. It’s been almost ten years since they last saw each other, and although he misses them dearly, at the time, their separation was for the best. It was a long journey from their planet to earth. Agent 11 was drained of energy after having to teleport with eleven other people to a whole new planet. They had to stop at various times for Agent 5 to heal him.

When they finally arrived on earth, Chanyeol wanted to start over without having his past tied to him. He needed a chance to recover, to breathe. They’ve been holed in the facility since they were young, Chanyeol hardly knew how it felt to be independent. They all needed time to recuperate as well. Chanyeol, as much as he loved his team, was reminded of the horrors they experienced every time he looked at them. And it hurt. He did not want to have negative feelings toward the people that have become his family. He needed time, so he left.

Now that years have passed, he doesn’t look like he has aged much since he left his planet. On X2, aging was a slower process, their youth lasting longer than Earthlings. By his features, Chanyeol estimates he looks in his early twenties. When he had left X2, he was twenty-one sun rotations.

Chanyeol suddenly feels exhausted. He will have to contact the others like Luhan instructed. They could all be in danger, but they needed to know. His mind throbs, an oncoming headache, and his body is still hot to the touch.

His heart pounds loudly just thinking about it. Have any of them changed?

 He needs to sleep on it. Forgetting all about his afternoon shift, Chanyeol walks back home and delves into his sheets.

 

 

The next day Chanyeol packs his bag. He doesn’t know where to start with finding the others but staying in his apartment is not the answer. He puts his suit and an extra pair of clothes in a backpack and straps the wristband over his wrist. He ignores the multiple calls from his boss after he had called and informed of his quitting with the reason to ‘save the world’. His mind is too jumbled to explain or make up an excuse. His boss didn’t take it very well, obviously, but if this is as bad as Chanyeol thinks and someone really did kill Agent 2 (he hopes it is just a messed-up prank), he doesn’t think he will ever return to Sydney after this.

A valid question since Chanyeol couldn’t answer it himself, but he had to try.

Before he figures out where to go, he does consider his responsibilities other than his job. He calls one of his closest friends briefly and vaguely explaining his situation before arranging to meet up at a cafe alongside the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

“Chanyeol,” Kasper greets Chanyeol with a quick hug. “You’re going on a spontaneous trip?”

They slide into a booth, taking opposing sides.

Chanyeol nods, “Basically. I got the urge yesterday, and I can’t shake the feeling. I need you to do me a favor.”

“Sure, man. Anything. I owe you for playing for me when I used to street dance. I have my job because of you.”

“It really was nothing. I had fun.” Chanyeol fumbles with his bag for a second, pulling out the keys. He slides it over to his friend. “I need you to sell everything in my apartment by the second week of July. Or keep it. I don’t care. Keep the money you make off it.”

Kasper’s smile slides off his face as he stares at the keys in confusion. “Wha—are you not coming back? What about your job?”

“I quit,” Chanyeol says plainly.

“Are you insane? Did you take something?” His friend interrogates looking at Chanyeol as if he is walking around headless.

Chanyeol presses his lips together. He insists, “It is crazy. But there’s something I have to do. I don’t know when I can come back, and I don’t have enough money to pay rent until I do get back. I have to buy a plane ticket, and I don’t even know where I am going.” His voice grows fainter as he starts feeling anxious and stressed. Perhaps, he should start from the beginning in Lithuania, or where Agent 2 was last seen, in Lancaster.

He’s not sure how much he can learn from a place that only has the faint imprints of the past.

When he had turned his back, walking down the dirt road with mud tracking his feet, he didn’t look back to see if he was being followed. Like Chanyeol, they had probably made a home for themselves in other locations. He has little hope he will find a tiny cottage along the same dirt road and find Agent 4 lounging on the porch with an old Labrador at his side.  

The more he thinks about how he is supposed to find everyone, the more daunting and impossible the mission becomes. But he can’t just pretend he didn’t hear the fear coming through his wristband. Not when their lives are at stake. He hardly knows where to begin or what is at the ending.

Shaking his head, Chanyeol looks up to his friend offering a fidgety smile. “It’s kind of a spur of the moment decision.”

Kasper’s gaze gets more incredulous by each passing moment. “Is this your quarter life crisis because this is by far the stupidest decision you have ever made.”

Chanyeol shrugs. He couldn’t explain to him. His friend wouldn’t believe him. Chanyeol tried it once with the first Earth friend he made. Safe to say that person has not talked to him since.

Kasper shakes his head.

“Will you do it?” Chanyeol asks quietly.

“You’re serious? You just going to leave everything?”

Chanyeol licks over his lips, “Yeah.”

“And I can keep the money?” Kasper presses his back to the back of the chair, waiting for Chanyeol to break out into laughter as another oddly timed joke, but he doesn’t.

“Of course. Everything inside that place is yours. I told the landlord that I will be moving out, so the place just needs to be wiped clean.”

“You know I would rather have you stay here than have anything in your apartment,” Kasper says softly.

Chanyeol smiles back, tightness forming in his chest. Kasper’s words are a sign that nothing is going to be the same. He wishes it could remain the way it is, but he was created to make life better for others. It is his driving force. He left his home planet; now, he has to leave the life he created with his two hands.

“I know.”

“Well,” Kasper claps his hands and rubs his palms together. “Let me at least buy you a drink before you go.”

Chanyeol snorts and complies, “Deal.”

 

 

It’s mid-afternoon when Chanyeol says goodbye to his friend and begins walking past the wharf to catch a taxi. He gets tossed into a crowd of people heading in different directions. He peers over the heads of different shades of hair to search for the line of taxis against the curb. He tries to make himself as small as possible to squeeze through. It is insane to try to weave through a crowd, probably because a liner cruise ship had docked earlier, but Chanyeol has nothing to lose. As he steps carefully, trying to avoid be jostled, his foot gets caught on something solid, and he stumbles forward.

A hand braces over his chest, preventing him from landing on the people around him. Chanyeol watches the ground spin below him as he balances, straightening. His hand brushes over the stranger’s wrist as the person pulls back. His hand feels like fire is licking up his arms, nipping at his bones.  

Chanyeol dazedly glances to his savior, apology on the tip of his tongue when he recognizes the person immediately. _Kyungsoo. Fire. Flames. Burn._

Those eyes. Chanyeol has seen those eyes in his dreams, his fantasies, and his nightmares. Wide and piercing, expressing the most extreme emotions. Chanyeol always felt pinned when those eyes set its sight on him with full, plump lips meshed into a line and the defining cupid’s bow spread into curved hills than pointed summits.

He looks the same as Chanyeol had left him, just as mighty in his shorter, compact body. Except there is less stress lining the corners of his mouth, and his hair is trimmed short leaving no trace of the downy fringe. The sun warms his skin, giving a golden glow that softens his features despite the surprise he wears. His thick, black eyebrows shoot up his forehead, lips parting.

“Chanyeol?”  

It’s been so long that even the voice is strange to Chanyeol’s ears. His body jerks at the sound that washes away the volume of the wharf, crowd, and birds above. Chanyeol wants to run. He’s been hiding for so long and he’s bound to the spot because _he_ is right in front of him. He tastes the bitterness of ash.

“Kyungsoo,” the name is foreign on his tongue, fumbling in a breathless tumble. Chanyeol’s face is warm, flushing in color.

“Wha—what are you doing here?” Kyungsoo asks, checking his surroundings as if he is expecting someone else to pop out. Despite the noises of passing conversation and the running engines of cars, Chanyeol hears the other clearly.

After all this time, seeing Agent 9 in the same city is a random chance of fate. Chanyeol rocks on his feet uncertainly, his chin tipping over the crown of Kyungsoo’s head. Someone jostles into Kyungsoo’s side. Chanyeol reflexively steadies the other and guides him away from the street toward a long bench with an elderly woman resting on one end. The contact doesn’t bring back flashes of a pulsing blaze; Chanyeol relaxes a bit.

“What are _you_ doing here? I live here.” Chanyeol formulates after a few seconds.

 _Too long_ , Chanyeol thinks. If it feels this strange with the other team members as it does with Kyungsoo, Chanyeol is going to need a lot of energy. But Kyungsoo has always been _special_.

“What?” Kyungsoo quirks his head, confused. “I can’t hear very well.”

Chanyeol repeats his question, louder, throat straining to mask the sounds around them.

“Ah,” Kyungsoo looks out to the ocean. “I’m here on vacation. Needed to get away for a while.” He points to the cruise liner, “Thought I would get over my irrational fear of the water.”

Chanyeol sniggers, “Wow, you must have really changed then. The Kyungsoo I know would have never stepped on a boat.”

Kyungsoo has a tight smile on, one that doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “Well, you didn’t stick around to get to know the new Kyungsoo.”

Chanyeol bites the inside of his cheek feeling guilt crawl up his throat. He feels as if he should apologize and explain his actions, but he remembers his mission.

“Kyun—”

The other cuts him off, “It’s really great to see you, but I have tickets for tonight’s opera.” He points to the opera house down the street. He turns to leave, but Chanyeol can’t lose him like this. He reaches out for him desperately.

“It’s about the others.” Chanyeol rushes.

That captures Kyungsoo’s attention. Kyungsoo’s brown eyes search for the truth in Chanyeol’s expression, his shoulders pulling taut. “What happened?”

“This isn’t the place to talk about it.” Chanyeol takes him across the street to a small park, away from a group of tourists debating where to eat dinner. Kyungsoo follows, although with trepidation. Chanyeol is grateful, either way. He’s one step closer to reuniting the team, one step closer to everyone being safe.

“Chanyeol, can you please just tell me what is going on?” Kyungsoo begins to grow impatient, huffing, but the desperation shows his concern.

“The other day I noticed that my power went out, like I lost all the heat.” Kyungsoo’s face eases from his forming scowl. “Listen, I thought it was weird, but remember that some of our powers connected. When I couldn’t feel any more warmth, I wondered if it was due to one of you guys because this has never happened before. I checked our wristbands, I assume you haven’t looked at yours in a long time. On it, there is a message from Agent 2—”

“Luhan,” Kyungsoo corrects. “Just get to the point, Chanyeol.” He crosses his arms.

“He’s gone.”

Kyungsoo falters, “What?”

“That’s what I’m trying to explain. Agent 2—Luhan was in trouble. He left messages on the wristbands. He thought someone was watching him and after the rest of us. His last message…” Chanyeol’s breath hitches as all the emotions hit him again, “I think they got him. The time stamp matches when I lost my power. He was last in England.”

Chanyeol watches Kyungsoo’s reaction. His face downcast, fists clenched at his side. Chanyeol doesn’t feel the ground shake, but Kyungsoo has always been good at concealing his feelings. Chanyeol could never tell what he was thinking.

“We have to find the others. It’s what he wanted,” Chanyeol says softly.

Kyungsoo faces him slowly, eyes dark and determined. “We’ll need Jongin. He can locate everyone. He can take us to them.”

Agent 11, the teleporter. His additional power was the ability to know where every member of the team is at, just like how Chanyeol has the warmth of every member around his body.

“He might not even be on earth! He could be in a completely different dimension for all we know!” Chanyeol exasperates. “Can’t you just feel where everyone is with your power?”

Agent 9 has the power to wield the earth. When they were first introduced, Chanyeol remembers because Kyungsoo was him during their weekly private training sessions that only consisted of Chanyeol and Agent 4–water–at the time. Agent 12, wind, did not join until a few months after Kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo had entered the room as a smaller, younger boy that had his power masked by his wide eyes that observed everything in one big sweep. Chanyeol had approached with confidence that his power was far more controlled and forceful than the others without even know what Kyungsoo could do. As soon as training started, Chanyeol lit the ground on fire. It was quelled when Kyungsoo flipped the earth over it easily.

Kyungsoo, also, didn’t lose control. Fire was spontaneous, snatching onto the closest flammable objects. The fire in Chanyeol often sought to bleed into something, spread the heat. He was able to keep it at bay, but when Chanyeol couldn’t control his emotions, the fire became harder to control as well. With Kyungsoo’s power, the earth moved slow, a minuscule growth one wouldn’t notice unless over a timeline. Kyungsoo was like that. His emotions built up over time, until it became too much.

Chanyeol had only seen Kyungsoo’s frustration come out as a fracture in the earth, deep and ridged, but easily patched up afterwards. Nothing nearly as destructive as Chanyeol’s fire.

“I haven’t used my power in years, Chanyeol. I can’t feel much anymore. It only works if they are within a few miles of me anyway. If they aren’t in this city, I can’t locate them.”

“Can you feel me?” Chanyeol asks without thinking.

Kyungsoo studies him for a second before shaking his head. “If I try to, yes. I didn’t notice it.”

There is a silence between them. Uncomfortable and unusual. Chanyeol shuffles on his feet, and Kyungsoo stares out onto the street.

“I guess I’m not going to the opera,” Kyungsoo says with a disappointment in his voice. “I suppose we should get Jongin.” He closes his eyes and inhales deeply, chest rising. He mouths something that Chanyeol can’t hear or understand. Chanyeol is about to ask what the hell he is doing when he hears a little pop in the air.

“Kyungsoo,” a soft voice calls out.

Kyungsoo’s eyes flutter open, and a warm smile spreads on his face, turning to the voice. He’s enveloped in a tan, half-naked body. Chanyeol glances around quickly to see if any passersby saw a man appear out of thin air. The head of brown hair turns to Chanyeol, shock on his face.

“Chanyeol?” He steps out of Kyungsoo’s embrace, coming closer to where Chanyeol stands. Jongin breaks in a large grin, leaping up to pull Chanyeol in a hug. “How are you? What’re you two doing together? Why are you in Australia?” Jongin throws multiple questions at once, catching an already caught off guard Chanyeol.

Chanyeol, with Jongin’s body still wrapped around his, gives Kyungsoo a puzzling look. “How did you do that?”

Kyungsoo waves an offhand, dismissing Chanyeol. “Jongin, we have to get the team back together.”

“What?” Jongin slips off Chanyeol and faces the other two. “Why? We said we wouldn’t do that unless an emergency.”

“Agen—Luhan is gone.” Chanyeol steps forward, when Jongin backs away.

“No, no, no, no,” Jongin mutters. Water fills his eyes as he looks at the ground.

“We need you to help us find the others,” Kyungsoo says softly.

“I—I can’t. I won’t. You know what they did to me. I can’t go back there.” Jongin’s breath gets heavier, his face turning red as he starts hyperventilating.

Kyungsoo reaches out to placate him. He hushes him gently, “Hey, it’s okay. No one said anything about returning. We don’t know what we’re going up against, except that someone is after us, and we have to protect the others, right? We just need to unite the rest of the team. We need you, Jongin.” His voice drops low that Chanyeol can’t hear him whisper into Jongin’s ear as the teleporter begins to calm down with shallow hiccups.

Chanyeol feels like he is intruding. He’s never seen this kind of reaction before. All twelve agents have gone through their own trials and torture to have the power they have today. Chanyeol shudders thinking through the experiments he went through when he was child, how he had watched the flames lick at his fingertips before shooting up his arms to consume him whole…

Chanyeol blinks when Jongin continues to nod, a weak smile curling.

“Jongin is going to teleport us to my place so I can get my suit. Chanyeol, do you have yours?” Kyungsoo raises an expectant eyebrow at Chanyeol.

Chanyeol pats his backpack, “Yeah, I’m ready.”

Kyungsoo presses his lips together tightly, “Let’s go.”

 

 

“Why are you half-naked?” Chanyeol asks while Jongin and he wait in Kyungsoo’s living room.

Jongin had teleported them to a quaint farm in Indiana that was apparently passed down to Kyungsoo a few years ago after the owners, who had taken Kyungsoo in, died. Jongin sits on the worn, polyester, mustard yellow sofa picking at the loose buttons sewn in. He’s still half naked with some tacky tie-dye sheet wrapped around his waist. Where it is tied at the side, allows the slit to show an arrow of skin.

Jongin glances at his lap where Chanyeol is judgmentally staring at his choice of fashion. Chanyeol is no professional in fashion, but he likes his sloppy streetwear look.

“Oh,” Jongin says with a hint of surprise as if he just noticed. “I was staying on this nudity only planet, so I flung this towel over when I felt Kyungsoo calling me. It’s quite freeing actually. You should come with me sometime. Not a lot of attractive specimen if you know what I mean, but you have appreciation for the caveman periods afterwards.”

Chanyeol clicks his tongue, “I’m good. Speaking of clothing, do you have your suit?”

“Ah,” Jongin snaps his fingers. “You’re right. I haven’t worn it in a long time. I wore it for a while when I was traveling dimensions, but I left it at the last planet I was at. I should probably change into that. I’ll be back. I just have to teleport to where I stashed it.” He disappears with a _crack!_

Chanyeol stares at the empty spot for a moment, listening to the sounds of Kyungsoo rummaging in his things upstairs. The house must have been built decades ago because the walls and flooring are very thin. The slightest of weight makes the wooden floors creak.

He takes this moment to look around and see what Kyungsoo’s life has been like for the past few years. The living room is pretty impersonal. There’re a few photos of an old couple that Chanyeol assumes were the past owners. There’re a few wooden frames with pictures of some animals, a sheep herding dog, a spotted cow, a cluster of chickens. Only one photo has a picture of Kyungsoo with the older couple. He is smiling widely with his lips outlining the shape of a heart, eyes crinkled as he bends down between the couple in their rocking chairs on the porch.

Multiple knickknacks decorate the window sills and side tables of farm animals. Chanyeol wonders if Kyungsoo actually has preference for things like this or if he keeps it because of the past owners. There’s an ancient tv stuck in the corner in front of the walled bookshelf. The room has a deep forest green with gold lined wallpaper. A brick fireplace pressed against the middle of the wall with logs tucked to the side next to the tools.

It’s a small, snug living room. The walled bookshelf has an arched entry into the dining room and on the opposite side is the front door and stained carpet stairs that lead to the second floor. Footsteps resound from the stairway, and Chanyeol tries to look nonchalant by glancing outside the window at the pasture as Kyungsoo turns at the railing.

“Are you hungry?” Kyungsoo asks.

“A little,” Chanyeol admits, sticking his hands between his knees.

Kyungsoo nods silently, that strange awkwardness fills the air between them again. Chanyeol follows after Kyungsoo to try and fix it.

The kitchen is just as old as the rest of the house with white, distressed cabinets and a gas stove that has chipped sides and a few dents. Chanyeol can’t even understand the dial on the microwave. The entire house looks like it is from the sixties. Kyungsoo maneuvers around the home easily though. He gets the stove to work with a little wiggle of the turner, and he puts an iron pan over the burner.

“So, what have you been doing?” Kyungsoo suddenly asks, glancing over at his guest while chopping up some zucchini.

“Huh. Oh, I was a waiter in the afternoons usually, then I played music where I could at night. I used to give tours at an aquarium, but that got boring after a while.” Chanyeol leans against the counter while Kyungsoo flits around the kitchen grabbing ingredients and utensils.

“I didn’t know you could play an instrument.”

“I couldn’t, but I started learning as soon as I came here.” Chanyeol feels self-conscious when Kyungsoo pins him down with an unreadable stare. Chanyeol kicks off the counter and distracts himself by looking at the magnets on the cream refrigerator. “Music helped calm down the need to light something up. It gave something for my fingers to do.”

Chanyeol doesn’t mean to share this information with Kyungsoo. He tends to ramble when he’s nervous, when he’s around Agent 9. Kyungsoo has that look about him that doesn’t pry for secrets, but he gets them. You can trust him to keep the secrets safe too.

Kyungsoo gives a hum, focusing back on cooking.

“How did you get here? In Indiana? The country life is not what I had imagined for you.” Chanyeol takes a seat at a little table in the corner where bills are tucked beside a stained-glass dragonfly lamp.

Kyungsoo does not look like the typical farmer. He’s missing the overalls, plaid shirts, and heavy boots. Kyungsoo is dressed soft. In a cotton black shirt, cotton sweats, and grey slippers. He’s dressed like a stay-at-home worker that stares mindlessly at his laptop. Chanyeol has the same style when he’s trying to record.

“What did you expect?”

Chanyeol picks at the hem of his shorts, “I don’t know. Maybe you’d have a nice family, a loving wife, some little monstrous children that are only sweet to their parents?”

“You know I couldn’t do that.” Kyungsoo’s voice sounds a little off.

It throws Chanyeol off too, making his own croak as he exhales in relief, “Yeah, I know.”

Another crack, and Jongin is walking in. “After being naked for so long, I thought wearing this would be terrible, but it’s like a second skin.” Clad in skintight nylon (the lighter he is, the less power he uses to teleport), Jongin pinches the fabric which snaps back to his skin. “I forgot how airy it is.”

Jongin sniffs the air and grins, sliding beside Kyungsoo. He is completely oblivious to how Chanyeol is staring hard at Kyungsoo’s back, trying to figure out whatever _this_ is.

“I’m starving. I missed you cooking for me.”

“I figured we can rest up here and get started on finding the others tomorrow.” Kyungsoo suggests, “I need to arrange some stuff with the farmhands before then. I already had things set up for the time I was supposed to be on a cruise in Australia, but now I will have to tell them my return is indefinite.”

“Do you like it here? This suits you better than the city.” Jongin breaks into laughter when Kyungsoo swats his hand away from stealing a taste of what’s in the pan.

Chanyeol simmers bitterly. Why can’t it be that easy for him? As if no time has passed. Maybe it didn’t for Jongin and Kyungsoo. He hasn’t considered how often they stay in contact. In Chanyeol’s head, his past paused and froze his relationships with the rest.

They were all close, but Chanyeol realizes the distance between them thinned out over the years. He knew it would, but seeing it first hand, he has to relearn the different lives they lead. Especially with Kyungsoo. Before, Chanyeol was closest with the earth wielder. They didn’t befriend fast. Kyungsoo slowly warmed up to him, only because Chanyeol was persistent.

Kyungsoo was close with the others, especially the younger ones, but Chanyeol felt like their friendship was special. The way they spoke, shared their troubles, their pain. An unspoken conversation easily passed between them. Despite their different powers, they worked well. Both distance fighters, Kyungsoo defense, Chanyeol offense. Their techniques were completely different, but they worked together seamlessly.

Chanyeol took the heat from somewhere else and concentrated it where he wanted. Kyungsoo had earth all around him. He didn’t need to draw out his power like Chanyeol did with fire. Kyungsoo is almost always connected with the earth. It’s starting to make sense why Kyungsoo lives out in the country on a farm.

“Yeah, I like it. The people who lived here were like my adoptive family. It was nice to know what that felt like for a bit, and it’s so calm here. I was in New York for a bit when I first arrived, and my senses were erratic, to the point where I could lose control if I tried to use my power. It felt like cement city there. I got used to it, but it’s hard to connect to the earth there. I left immediately and met the couple who owned the farm. I haven’t left since.”

“I teleported around. Saw the highlights of the world. Tried to find El Dorado, solve the sasquatch theory. Then I decided to visit the other dimensions. I started sticking around more then. It’s nice to see how the different civilizations have persevered. You learn a lot. You caught me at the planet of nudity.”

“Is everyone else on this planet?” Chanyeol asks.

Jongin nods, looking over at him. “Yeah, but everyone is spread out across the globe.”

Kyungsoo puts plates and utensils out for Jongin to make the table, and Chanyeol helps bring the food over. They eat over the conversation of catching up. Jongin retires to one of the spare bedrooms after dinner, yawning after Kyungsoo as he leads him to the room.

Chanyeol cleans up dinner, almost done when Kyungsoo comes back and thanks him quietly.

“I’ll clean up the rest. Go get some sleep.” He takes the washcloth out of Chanyeol’s hand where he was scrubbing the pot.

“Sorry about your vacation.” Chanyeol says.

Kyungsoo shrugs, keeping his head down, “It wasn’t my idea to go anyways, but my farmhands bought me the cruise liner tickets, and I couldn’t say no. You, at least, prevented me from being on the wretched boat for days. It takes off from Sydney tomorrow, so I spent a few minutes in my room before I ran into you. Besides, I would do anything for the team.”

Chanyeol swallows, half-way out of the room when he musters the courage, “Still. I’m—I missed you.” And like the coward he is, he runs away, finding a room that doesn’t look lived in. He is thankful Kyungsoo does not try to follow him, leaving Chanyeol to his own devices.

When he finds a room, he collapses on the bed with a groan. His whole body aches. He blames it partly on teleporting, unused to it after so many years. He closes his eyes remembering the last time he saw his team on their planet as a whole.

Fire was flickering at his fingertips, the skin a violent red. His eyes were shaking, staring at tips of flames turning white as sparks shot out and caught on the walls, igniting a trellis of fire. Chanyeol was shaking, his fear fueling the fire. He couldn’t see the rest of the team, gaze covered in ash despite his mask being on. He was alone, possibly left to be consumed in his own destruction.

He’s never seen his power get out of hand like this or this angrily hot. He was angry, scared, and alone, the combination detrimental to Chanyeol’s weak state of mind. He jumped, flames spluttering when he felt cool fingertips at his nape.

Chanyeol whipped around only to be lost in the orange haze reflected in Kyungsoo’s eyes. He was sure Kyungsoo could see all the vulnerability in his eyes and he leaned forward…

 

 

Chanyeol wakes up with the literal roosters. Light filters heavily through the curtains, burning his eyelids. He rubs at crumbs around his eyes, yawning and stretching in the messy tangle of sheets. He’s still in his clothes from last night. He sits up looking around the small room. A wooden chest is pressed against the wall with a matching night stand next to the full bed.

Slowly peeling off the bed, he finds his bookbag set by the door that he definitely did not place there. He assumes Kyungsoo must’ve dropped it by. The thought makes Chanyeol’s lip twitch in delight. He rummages through his bag until he finds his suit. He puts it on, the fabric not clinging to his skin as well as it used to. He brushes his fingers through his hair in an attempt to tame the mess it became while sleeping.

Chanyeol pokes his head outside before stepping into the hallway. It must be early in the morning. The only noises he hears is the creaks of the floorboards from his weight and the noises from outside. Walking downstairs and coming to stand on the porch, Chanyeol inhales the fresh air.

The sky is a peach, hazy glow. Chanyeol leans on the railing of the farmhouse while gazing at the rich field. The grass is still dewy as he steps out following a dirt path. He passes a worker, who give Chanyeol a curious look, probably due to his strange outfit. He continues until he reaches a small barn with fenced in chickens clucking. Chanyeol bends down to stick his fingers through the gaps of the metal link fence. The squeak of the barn door startles him, Chanyeol popping up to see Kyungsoo in dirty jeans, grey shirt, and a basket in his hand.

“You’re up,” Kyungsoo notes with slight surprise. “And you’ve befriended my chickens.”

“Thought I would take a walk,” Chanyeol says, standing up and dusting himself off. His gaze falls on the basket in Kyungsoo’s hand filled with brown eggs.

Kyungsoo follows his gaze. “Breakfast.” Chanyeol hums. “We need a good meal if we are going to find the others. Jongin will need his strength.”

“Do you need help?” Chanyeol offers, following after Kyungsoo down the same dirt path he had just walked on.

Kyungsoo has Chanyeol mix the eggs and shred potatoes for hash browns when they get back to the farm house. Chanyeol watches over the bacon sizzling in the pans while Kyungsoo fixes coffee. By the time they finish, a full course American breakfast is served.

Jongin pops into the dining room as Chanyeol is spreading homemade jam over a biscuit and Kyungsoo is serving himself some scrambled eggs. They enjoy their meal to the clattering of metal against plates and the constant refilling of their drinks.

“Who should we visit first?” Jongin asks, chewing some bacon.

“We’ll need Joonmyun if we get Sehun, otherwise we won’t be able to coax Sehun of anything, and you know how upset he’ll be once he finds out about Luhan. We should also find Yixing as soon as possible. He can help heal if something goes wrong.” Kyungsoo says.

Jongin wipes his hands, “Yixing, it is.” He closes his eyes, face completely still. “Hospital, Shanghai. He’s a nurse there. I can get to him easily, but if you two join, it might draw attention to the humans.”

“I—” Kyungsoo starts.

“We should really stay together,” Chanyeol urges, not feeling right about being separated so soon.

“He’s in a hospital. It will be easier if I just do it myself. I’ll find him quick and bring him back here. Then we can go get Joonmyun.” Jongin sounds so confident and sure of himself.

It is a simple job, Chanyeol thinks. “Fine, but please be careful.”

Jongin grins and winks, “Always.”

“I’ll clean up and put on my suit since everybody else has.” Kyungsoo stands, taking everyone’s plates. Chanyeol assists with gathering the other plates with leftovers on it. Jongin disappears again leaving Kyungsoo and Chanyeol alone again.

“Don’t you think we should get Agent 1 after Agent 5?” Chanyeol asks, dumping the leftovers in the trashcan.

Kyungsoo slams the plate down, hands shaking with gripped chipped remnants of the broken plate. Chanyeol jumps to see veins bulging int Kyungsoo’s rigid arms.

“Use their fucking names,” Kyungsoo spits out. “We are not ‘agents’ anymore. We left that life, remember?” His eyes are cold when he turns to look at a shocked Chanyeol. “This is not some child’s mission nor a chance to play hero. These are our friends, Chanyeol. You don’t need to act like having personal relationship with the team is going to fucking destroy us,” he seethes, the house starting to shake. His words are sharp, digging into Chanyeol’s skin. There is a double meaning to his words, one that Chanyeol is not strong enough to understand.

Kyungsoo is about to apologize when he realizes Chanyeol is not going to say anything, but an alert from their wristbands go off. Chanyeol lifts his arm to see a moving picture in the screen. He can hear heavy footsteps. Running.

Chanyeol’s heartrate picks up. A crackled voice filters through the speaker. “C…ode 24, I…anybody?” A deep voice pants. Agent 3. Wielder of flight.

Kyungsoo strides over to Chanyeol, gripping his wrist, forming bruises by the sudden strength he exudes. “Yifan?”

“Kyungsoo? …Oh god, I don’t know…what’s going on,” Chanyeol can’t tell what the screen is of, just blurs of tan and black. “Something…or someone is after me…I,” he cuts off.

“Fuck,” Kyungsoo curses. He looks up at Chanyeol pleadingly. His eyes flicker with worry and fear asking silently, ‘what can we do?’ Chanyeol looks back to frozen screen. What could they do? Jongin is with Yixing. Sending Jongin there could also be a deathtrap. They don’t know what they are up against. Kyungsoo realizes it too.

“Just hold on, Yifan,” Kyungsoo urges, biting his lower lip.

The screen unfreezes showing a black wispy mass against a clear sky. They are on top of a roof somewhere.

“Yifan,” Chanyeol begins just as the team member turns around, screen going blurry again. He’s going to jump, Chanyeol thinks. Yifan does leap off the edge of the building. “No!” Chanyeol cries out, just as Yifan is steadily flying in the air, but immediately a yell is ripping out of Yifan’s throat, bare and haunting as the screen goes black and their connection with Yifan is cut off.

“Command: Agent 3’s location,” Chanyeol calls.

The mechanical voice is dissonant and cold, confirming their fears, “Agent 3 last seen a minute ago in Lisbon, Portugal, 38°43'24.9"N 9°07'53.3"W.”

“H-heartbeat.” Chanyeol feebly has to check. He has to be sure, but the heat bleeding out of his shoulder blades is enough to confirm.

“No pulse found on Agent 3. Wristband has been deactivated.”

Chanyeol’s knees are weak. He moves to sit at the dining table. Two gone. How many more will be lost before they can stop whatever is hunting them? He barely registers Kyungsoo sitting beside him. Chanyeol jerks when Kyungsoo’s fingers, long and calloused, curl around Chanyeol’s hand. The touch is appreciated, familiar and foreign all at the same time. He selfishly draws some of Kyungsoo’s heat and manipulates it over his back, like a safety blanket.

If Kyungsoo notices what he is doing, he doesn’t show it. Barely two minutes pass before Jongin is strolling back into the room with Yixing in his ashy grey suit trailing behind him.

“Were you that concerned I wouldn’t make it back,” Jongin jokes for a second before noticing the tense pull of their shoulders hasn’t left yet. “What happened?” he whispers.

 

 

While Kyungsoo changes into his suit, Yixing looks over Chanyeol’s body. Out of all of them, Yixing is the only one that looks like he’s aged so far. There are flecks of white in his soft black hair. The skin under his eyes is purple. His eyes still have the kind sparkle that holds energy like Baekhyun’s, but there, also, is serenity that bring calmness to Chanyeol’s nerves.

“You are in good health.” Yixing pulls a stethoscope away, one that Kyungsoo had sitting in the spare bathroom’s drawers, and clicks his tongue, “I think your suspicions are right. Your body heat is not just an individual portion from yourself, but it also draws from the rest of us as well. If you think of it, you are our center. You are the only one that knows if we are alive. I theorize without you, our powers wouldn’t be as strong, and vice versa.”

“Would I die without you guys alive?” Chanyeol asks.

Yixing ponders dazedly for a second, “I don’t think so, but maybe your flame would be equivalent to the strength of a candle. Still dangerous but limited.”

Jongin sits on the sofa. His expression hasn’t changed since Kyungsoo explained what happened with Yifan. His feet are planted on the ground, elbows above his knee, head down, and fingers clasped. Yixing had sat beside him with a comforting arm draped around him while Chanyeol explained everything.

It is an unbelievably short amount of time to mourn a close friend, a brother. Just like when they had to leave their planet, they never were able to say a fit goodbye. Everything was cut short, personal feelings had to be bottled up until they were safe. Chanyeol feels like he’s always trying to catch up with his feelings, having to push them away and only to return and heal slower.

He supposes forgetting is futile. If ten years didn’t give him enough time, then it is an impossible feat.

“Are we ready?” Kyungsoo asks coming down the steps. “I’ve made the arrangements with some of the farmhands to take care of the place, so I am set.” He looks at Jongin’s unmoving form. “Jongin?”

Jongin lifts his head, a set gaze pulling his eyebrows tight. “I’m ready.”

They each grab onto the teleporter’s forearm. Chanyeol squeezes his eyes shut just as the space around him seems to tighten, his body feeling like it’s being shoved in a tube. It’s over in a quick second. He blinks against the dusky sky.

“Where are we?” Chanyeol looks around at the flat land behind them the to where the ground drops off in a cliff and water crashes below. The earth is covered in gravel and muted plants grow. Chanyeol could see a highway not too far off from where they stand.

“Bunda Cliffs, Australia.” Jongin says with hands on his hips.

“Don’t you recognize your country?” Kyungsoo deadpans.

“Australia is a large country. It’s its own fucking continent. I’ve lived in Sydney for ten years, and I’ve barely been to any other city.”

Yixing puts his hands on his hips, “I don’t see Joonmyun.”

“That’s because I can’t bring you close to him. He is over there.” Jongin points out to the horizon.

 “I don’t get it,” Chanyeol squints his eyes trying to see if he is missing something. He’s eyes start watering from the sun.

“He lives in Atlantis. I can’t control what happens if I teleport all of us in the water. It will be easier this way.” Jongin teleports again and Chanyeol gasps when he sees a tiny dot in the distance falling from the sky. He can tell Jongin is keeping his body poised in a straight dive, hands first. There’s barely a splash when he disappears.

The seconds tick by slowly waiting with bated breaths. Chanyeol jumps back when Jongin and Joonmyun appear on the ground soaked. Joonmyun with long black hair blinks rapidly at the ground then trailing his gaze up at the feet standing before him.

“Yixing, Kyungsoo…what’re you guys doing here?” Joonmyun’s hair is plastered to his bare skin, black tendrils in spirals down to his waist. Chanyeol grimaces when he realizes Joonmyun also has no clothes on him.

“Why are you naked?” Chanyeol asks with a disturbed crook to his lips.

“Clothes are extremely heavy in the water. And they get rougher because of the salinity” Joonmyun spares a glance to his nether regions unbothered how bare he is. Jongin stands, trying to help Joonmyun up. Dirt is stuck to his slick skin.

Kyungsoo unzips his bag and hands Joonmyun a pair of dry jeans. Joonmyun smiles gratefully.

“Almost had a heart attack when I felt something touch me then I’m no longer in water. I didn’t even have enough time to use my powers against him.”

“I didn’t want to drown.” Jongin chuckles.

After Joonmyun puts on the pants, loose on his hips, he moves his hair out of his face and looks expectantly at everyone. “So, I am sensing that something happened or else you all wouldn’t be here.”

“We need to get Sehunnie,” Jongin says.

“Ah,” Joonmyun nods with an exhale. “Well, I left my suit with Jongdae, so we might as well go to him first and you can explain to me at his house. These jeans are already sticking to my legs.” He stomps his feet lightly just to prove the dips and creases don’t budge.

 

 

Chanyeol knocks his knees on the low table out on the porch. Agent 7—Jongdae is pulling out his lightning rods out of the sand. Jongdae, located at the bottom end of Japan, owns a little unstable hut right along the coast. They had just finished telling Jongdae and Joonmyun everything when both needed some fresh air. As Jongdae gathers the steel poles, Joonmyun lets the tide lap at his feet while dodging Jongin’s playful pushes.

Chanyeol, feeling anxious, held back while the others took a stroll on the beach. His finger fiddles with the wrist band. They only have four more agents left to find that are alive.

After teleporting from Bunda Cliffs to the quaint village by Mibaru Beach, Jongin was exhausted. Jongdae offered multiple sleep mats for them to use for the night before finding rest. Instead of Jongin teleporting everyone to Sehun’s location, Joonmyun voiced his concern for the skittish wind wielder and offered that just he and Jongin will go.

The first time Chanyeol met Sehun was as traumatic as most of Sehun’s childhood. He was the last development of the wielders and the youngest. All the agents experienced the harsh physical and mental toll it was during experimentation. For Chanyeol, he spent the first few years in the facility in solitude unable to leave his quarters until he completed little tasks to control his power, like lighting a candlewick.

All twelve faced some type of ruthless means to tap into their abilities. Chanyeol knew a few of their stories; Minseok used to be tied up, forced to cool boiling water before it touched his skin. Others didn’t share. Kyungsoo never did, and Chanyeol never pried. Somethings were better left unsaid.

Chanyeol had though at the time that these hardships would mean nothing when he was protecting his planet and being a hero. Although never given the option to choose between having powers and a normal life, Chanyeol accepted it and looked forward to being able to do his job when he grew up. And Sehun… Sehun never wanted it. He was so young. As he matured, he struggled with controlling his emotions.

Chanyeol wanted to take Sehun under his wing after they met, but Agent 12 took a long time to open up to anyone. Sehun first trusted Joonmyun after one of the moderators, that was observing their training, injected Joonmyun with a small dart. The tube was filled with pink fluid that had flushed into his body

Chanyeol, who was lit with flames, faltered as Joonmyun dropped to the ground, body convulsing. It wasn’t the first time Chanyeol had seen it happen, but it was all new for Sehun. He had only been to a few group trainings where it was fairly tame, not the selective one with Joonmyun, Chanyeol, and Kyungsoo, where they practiced brutally until their knees bled.

“Control your blood flow, Agent 4!” The moderator’s voice shook the arena with a steely tone.

Joonmyun gritted his teeth, veins bulging at his neck, his hands forming into tight fists. His breathing stuttered, heaving quickly as if there wasn’t enough air to inhale.

“Stop,” Sehun had meekly said.

Chanyeol looked at the new addition who had tears welling in his eyes, air ruffling his hair. Joonmyun had glanced at Sehun, losing his concentration for just a moment. Joonmyun let out an involuntary scream of pain. “Stop it!” This time, Sehun shouted, voice cracking.

Another dart begun whistling through the arena, then paused mid-air. Sehun glared at it. Chanyeol could feel the wind picking up, whipping around his body. The dart dropped to the floor when the wind retreated and Sehun rushed over to his side.

Chanyeol swallowed when Sehun pulled the dart out of his shoulder and held onto Joonmyun’s hand.

“Breathe,” Kyungsoo reminded their fallen member on the ground. “Draw the liquid out, focus on the compounds, the chemicals.”

After one tense minute, Joonmyun’s body went slack, the pink liquid that had entered his body oozed out of the miniscule wound. But they weren’t safe. Security rolled into the arena tasering each of them before they could process what was happening. Sehun was dragged back into unknown chambers which they all knew was a nightmare.

After that, Sehun trusted his team more, sticking to Joonmyun’s side and allowing the elder to guide him. His hate for the agency doubled. When the first talks of rebellion arose, Sehun was the first to agree, convincing Joonmyun to join. Their escaped freedom was easier said than done, but even after escaping their planet, one couldn’t escape their own mind.

 

A yell breaks Chanyeol out of his reverie. He shoots up, hands clenching. Jongin shouts at Joonmyun for dousing him in a wave of chilly ocean water. Chanyeol sighs, sitting back down watching Jongin teleport behind Joonmyun. He dumps water on the elder’s head that he had cupped in his hands. Joonmyun tries to retaliate by protecting himself with liquid octopus’ legs that squirm around him in the air.

Chanyeol jumps when Jongin is suddenly standing on the porch next to him. The younger calls out for Joonmyun with a wave, laughing as Joonmyun huffs visibly from the shore, the ring of water dropping to the ground.

Chanyeol sits outside while the sky dims and everyone is filtered inside the little hut. He can hear Kyungsoo giving instructions to Yixing as they try to cook dinner, and Jongdae squabbling with Joonmyun to stop making a mess in his house, Jongin’s cackles filtering in between arguments.

“Dinner time,” Kyungsoo pokes his head out eventually.

“I’m not hungry.” Chanyeol says without his eyes leaving the horizon.

“You need to eat.” Kyungsoo stands there waiting for Chanyeol’s response. When Chanyeol doesn’t respond, he sighs, “Whatever. I’ll leave leftovers in the fridge.”

Chanyeol only looks over when Kyungsoo has gone back inside.

 

All twelve agents had fought for so long. Each one was torn from their families when they were born, selected and then designed to contain superpowers to protect their planet. At least, that is what they were told. The tests and the torture they experienced, the separation from society, the rigid training regimes, they thought was all for keeping their home safe.

Yet as time passed, rumors spread that they were being used to take over their planet. The government had plans for them. The last ritual before their powers were fully mature, was to insert a chip in their bodies that would give the officials entire control of their body.

The night that they had escaped wasn’t supposed to happen. They had made plans. They were going to wait when they had their interview that was being broadcasted to everyone on their planet. D-day had come faster than they expected.

Agent 6 had stormed into Chanyeol’s chambers one evening. Chanyeol was just flicking through articles on his screen device when he was interrupted.

“Gate 7 has been breached. When don’t have much time? The others are holding the officials off.” Agent 6 told Chanyeol quickly.

Chanyeol’s world tilted. His breathing quickened. He jumped up from his bed and began to follow Agent 6. “Wait, what about Kyungsoo? He was training earlier.” Chanyeol stopped, looking back down the hallway in the opposite direction to the training rooms.

Agent 6 froze. His eyes darted away from Chanyeol’s.

Chanyeol’s jaw flexed, “They have him.” He harshly whispered.

“Chanyeol, we don’t have much time.” Agent 6 stretched out to wrap his nylon covered fingers around Chanyeol’s forearm. “He’s been holding them back. If we don’t go now, we might never get out.”

“And we will just leave him to die?” Chanyeol nearly screamed. His mind raced with his past memories with Agent 9. Chanyeol’s heart thumped louder, adrenaline rushing in his veins. “We can’t leave him.”

Baekhyun looked as crushed and defeated as Chanyeol felt. “We don’t have much time.”

Images of Kyungsoo bloodied, beaten down, lifeless passed through Chanyeol’s head. It made him sick, weak. If Kyungsoo wasn’t alive, then… Chanyeol refused to think. “Then you go,” Chanyeol tells the other. “I’m not leaving without Kyungsoo even if it kills us.”

“Chanyeol,” Agent 6’s face fell, acceptance of their fate already evident on his face. However, he was stubborn to leave Agent 8 behind. Their unit shook from a loud explosion.

“Go, Baekhyun!” Chanyeol bellowed, feeling frantically desperate.

 

“What are you doing still out here?” Jongdae steps out onto the porch with two steaming mugs in his hand. He hands one to Chanyeol. Chanyeol takes it, seeping the heat into his hands before sending it back out into the mug, fluctuating the temperature of the drink.

“Just thinking,” Chanyeol answers, carefully sipping on the green tea. Jongdae hums, taking his own drink. “I was thinking about when we left.”

“Ah,” Jongdae glances over at him. “You should really talk to him.”

“I know,” Chanyeol agrees. “I just—”

“Look, I don’t know what happened before we left our planet, but it’s in the past. We don’t know what’s going on right now, and I think we should really take this opportunity and enjoy being together despite the circumstances. Say what we need to say, that kind of thing. Because we don’t know when we are going to die tomorrow. That has always been my motto.” Jongdae grins sharply, the corners of his mouth curling.

“And you’ve said a lot of dumb shit.” Chanyeol cackles.

Jongdae laughs along, “I have zero regrets. I don’t want you to have them either.”

Chanyeol scuffs his shoes against the wood flooring. “I already have plenty of those. He probably hates me.”

Jongdae puts a warm hand on Chanyeol’s shoulder. “He doesn’t hate you, believe me. In fact, he probably thinks you hate him. You are the one that just disappeared, then reappeared, and now, you’re hardly talking to him.”

“I tried!” Chanyeol protests petulantly.

Jongdae raises an eyebrow, “Have you really? The Chanyeol I know could talk a stranger’s head off. I think you can manage to try again with your closest friend.”

“I’m not the same person.”

Jongdae snorts, pissing off Chanyeol. He is being serious, but Jongdae just rolls his eyes. “That’s the biggest lie I have heard in my entire existence. The Chanyeol I knew and know are the exact same, both slightly dim, both get grumpy when things don’t go entirely their way, or when they can’t express how they feel. Both scared, but both are very strong even if they put themselves down sometimes. You have an amazing ability. One of the strongest on the team. Don’t doubt yourself. When you do, you doubt the rest of us too.” Jongdae’s tone goes soft.

Chanyeol meshes his lips together, “I…” His chest feels a bit tight, and yeah, he might cry. Jongdae forgot to add he’s sensitive.

Jongdae seems to understand the words Chanyeol can’t say. “Just talk to him, ‘kay. That’s the first step. Then we can all move forward.”

Chanyeol stares out at the grey masses of mist crashing into the sand.

“Let’s go to bed. I’m exhausted. I can feel a storm coming soon. It always seems to drain my energy before it arrives.” Jongdae leads him into the small hut. Chanyeol has to lower his head so it doesn’t knock into the door frame.

Jongdae takes a mat beside Joonmyun and lies down. He squirms and punches Jongin in the ribs when his kicks him with his feet. Chanyeol smiles. They really haven’t changed much, like time didn’t pass at all. Then why does he feel…so alone. Kyungsoo is sitting up in his mat in the corner, legs crisscrossed with a book spread on his lap. He glances up, meeting Chanyeol’s stare. Everything Chanyeol wanted to say or do disappears from his mind in that one moment.

Kyungsoo sighs, “Food is in the fridge.” He focuses back to his book.

Chanyeol shuffles to the kitchen, a very small cubicle sized room. The fridge is tiny too. He finds three plastic canisters with dinner chilling inside. He heats it up with his hands, feeling proud when the temperature isn’t too hot with his first bite.

He cleans up after he is finished and takes the open cot beside Yixing, groaning when his joints creak. Yixing peels one eye at him, regarding his state, “You’ll have to start practicing more. You’re rusty.”

Chanyeol balances himself on one side, head being pillowed by his arm, “Fire doesn’t come up as often as you think in daily life.”

Yixing hums, “Maybe you should’ve done what Joonmyun did and surrounded yourself with the element. Lived inside a volcano.”

“I control fire. That doesn’t make me fire-proof.”

Yixing yawns widely, “Sure, sure.” He pulls his blanket up to his shoulders, “Night, Chanyeol.”

“Goodnight.”

 

Before Jongin left with Joonmyun to add Sehun to the group. Kyungsoo suggested on picking up Baekhyun first.

“We won’t need everyone for that. He already knows we are coming.” Kyungsoo points out. “And I know where he is.”

Chanyeol doesn’t get a moment to question how Baekhyun knows they are coming because Jongin perks up from where he’s spooning a boiled egg into his mouth, saying, “Great, so I won’t have to use much energy.”

“Still in Greece?” Jongdae asks from the cubby-sized kitchen.

“Yeah, I think it’s alright if only a few of us go.”

Joonmyun nods, “Just be quick. Any volunteers.”

Chanyeol raises his hand, “I’ll go. I haven’t been to Greece.”

Jongin grins, “Cool. Let’s go.” Chanyeol stands up reaching for Jongin’s wrist. He squeezes his eyes just as the ground disappears beneath him.

Chanyeol lurches forward, head swimming around. A brilliant light bleeds through his eyelids. He can hear the waves crashing, inhales the crisp ocean air. “I was not mentally prepared for that.”

Jongin pats his back as Chanyeol slowly peels his eyes open, “You’ve teleported so many times within the past few days, and you still manage to get sick.”

“Ugh,” Chanyeol simpers at cool fingertips at his nape. “I’ll never get used to it.” He smiles thankfully at Kyungsoo, who removes his hand from Chanyeol’s neck.

They are standing on the deck of a large white yacht. Chanyeol wants to scoff at how pretentious Baekhyun is. How the male has made enough in the past ten years to afford a yacht this size and live in Greece is a mystery. He probably schmoozed someone into giving him all their money.

The door to the cabin opens with Baekhyun focused on a wine bottle, someone behind him listening raptly. “One of the finest. I had this a few years ago at Cannes Film Festival, and it was love at first sip. Took me a few years to find it, and it cost me every cent but—oh my god!” Baekhyun looks up from the bottle to realize he has new passengers.

Baekhyun grins widely. He’s wearing a tank top and the shortest baby blue shorts Chanyeol has ever seen and Sperry’s. The fire wielder frowns at his friend’s choice in fashion for a millisecond before Baekhyun begins screaming in excitement, shoving the apparently expensive bottle of wine into the chest of the person behind him. “YOU GUYS! I’VE MISSED YOU!”

Baekhyun rushes over to pull them in a hug. “You look exactly the same, pretty much. Chanyeol, you’ve gotten thinner. Look at your tan, Kyungsoo. You could blend in as native here. Jongin, taller than me. _tsk._ I’m still upset about that. I was surprised to hear from Kyungsoo after he didn’t respond to my email like six months ago, saying that you guys were coming, but I didn’t think you guys would be here so soon.” Baekhyun talks fast and loudly. He’s just as bright as before, skin sun kissed and a healthy roundness to his cheeks. He was looking thin before they left their planet.  

“I was waiting for something interesting to happen,” Kyungsoo shrugs, a gentle smile on his lips, one Chanyeol hasn’t seen in a long time. He remembers those smiles being so often reserved for him when they were tired, but Chanyeol’s brain wouldn’t shut up, so he would just talk and Kyungsoo would just listen. The sun is hot on Chanyeol’s skin.

Baekhyun shakes his head, disbelief tilting his lips, “You don’t consider this interesting?”

“I don’t consider our lives being in danger exactly interesting.”

Baekhyun clicks his tongue, “Right, right. Well, come on in for a second as I gather my stuff. This is Francesco. He’ll be taking care of my girl while I’m gone.” He pauses a moment, then clarifies, “The boat, I mean. I’m taking the wine though.” Baekhyun snatches the bottle away from the male that is sitting by the door to the yacht’s cabin.

Jongin follows after Baekhyun, nodding to Francesco.

Chanyeol stops Kyungsoo from walking inside with a hand at his elbow. Kyungsoo faces him with an unreadable look. His eyes slant from the sun beaming down on them. Chanyeol bites his lip before he says, in a rush, “I didn’t know you were in contact with some of the others.”

Kyungsoo stiffens at the touch. Chanyeol’s grip falls loose, and Kyungsoo steps back. He feels far. As far as they were before with Chanyeol in Sydney and Kyungsoo in the States. Kyungsoo blinks frantically trying to look at Chanyeol directly, but the light is too harsh. “Yes, well, unlike someone, I didn’t want to forget.”

“Kyungsoo, wait,” Chanyeol’s fingertips circle around Kyungsoo’s arm, but the touch is brief as Kyungsoo jerks back. “Please,” Chanyeol nearly begs. He feels suddenly desperate, as if this is the last time he can say…His chest tightens, that uncomfortable, uneasy feeling in his chest.

Kyungsoo wavers from where he stands looking at the door and to Francesco pretending to not listen to their conversation. “Let’s talk about this later.”

“When?” Chanyeol blurts.

Kyungsoo slightly huffs in annoyance, his arms slapping his sides, “I don’t know, Chanyeol.”

“Just admit that you are pushing this off as much as I am.”

Kyungsoo’s eyes sharpen, piercing Chanyeol head on. “Can you blame me? You had a chance, Chanyeol. Ten fucking years, ever since we left the damned planet, and now you want to talk?”

“You wanted to talk before we left the planet!”

“I thought we were going to die!”

“How is that any different from now?”

Kyungsoo falters, licking his lips as he heads to the door. “The difference is, I’ve been saying it even before then. You can’t…just decide when the timing is good for you.” With that, he leaves Chanyeol out on the deck.

 

 

After bringing Baekhyun back to Jongdae’s hut and a very loud reunion, Jongin teleports Joonmyun to Brazil where Sehun apparently is. Chanyeol tries to listen to Baekhyun’s story and how he ended up with tons of money, but he keeps glancing over to where Kyungsoo sits with a cup of tea in his hand and a laugh at the brim of his mug every time Baekhyun says something remotely funny.

Chanyeol is not jealous. He just wishes everything could go back to the way it was. It couldn’t be that hard. He—

“It can’t go back to how it used to be.”

Chanyeol blinks, gaping as Kyungsoo stands up. The tea cup clenching in his hand. “Wha—” He glimpses over to stunned Baekhyun, pursed Jongdae, and Yixing’s spot is empty. Oh, he said it out loud.

“God, Chanyeol. How can you be so…so obtuse!” Kyungsoo cries out when he finds the right word. “You want everything to go back to the way it was, but you also want to forget everything that has happened. You can’t just pick and choose. It’s either you’re Chanyeol, who controls fire, or you’re just Chanyeol, the boy that lives in Australia. No one is forcing you to be the latter. Have Jongin take you back home, wherever that is. I’m going for a walk.”

Chanyeol watches, frozen and speechless, as Kyungsoo storms outside, the ground vibrating enough that Chanyeol can feel it in floorboards.

It’s silent for a few seconds as Chanyeol takes everything in, slowly curving in on himself.

“Well,” Jongdae pops his lips, “when I said talk to him, I didn’t mean a verbal yelling match.”

“Shut the fuck up, Jongdae,” Chanyeol mutters. He sees Baekhyun shuffling in the corner of his eye, sliding over to where Chanyeol sits.

“Hey, it’s okay to be scared.” Baekhyun ducks his head down so Chanyeol can see his comforting smile underneath his falling fringe. “You don’t always have to be brave, whether facing a friend or some bad guy. It’s okay to be scared, Yeollie.”

 _It’s okay_.

“Um, guys.”

A loud beeping rings through Chanyeol’s ear. Before Chanyeol can even process what is happening, a snap of the air, and Jongin is standing in the middle of the room with his hair pointing in five different directs from wild winds that is most likely due to Sehun.

“It’s Tao.”

 

Agent 10, the time wielder. Chanyeol was seven when he first met the little boy that loved to stop time just when the officials were trying to pick him up. Meeting Tao was an accident. The younger was supposed to be in his nursery or in the testing lab. However, the boy was wandering the halls and somehow ended up finding Chanyeol trying to light a pile of sticks on fire.

Chanyeol was told that Agent 10 is the youngest out of them to master his power. Chanyeol, at seven, turned to face Tao with a quick smile, happy to meet a kid his age. Tao had froze, hands paused in the air. Young Chanyeol stared at him curiously, “What’re you doing?”

Tao burst into tears as Chanyeol blinked confusedly at him. The officials found him right away. It was then that Tao learned his powers can’t stop his super-powered friends. As he grew and his power got stronger, he could at least slow them down if he concentrates.

 

Rain drops splatter on Chanyeol’s forehead, wetting his hair. The sky is dark, a swarming gray that angrily flashes neon blue inside the cumulonimbus clouds. The place smells of sewage and a nearby fish market. Around him the cement is an inky black mixed with rain and street waste.

They stand at the junction of an alleyway. Walls high with shops, then apartments built atop apartments. Glowing lights from shops on the main street and what little light that lit through windows speckled the alley way with light.

“Where are we?” Baekhyun asks, looking as grossed out as Chanyeol feels about the poor conditions. He is one of the few of them that doesn’t wear a mask because it would only filter and weaken his manipulation of light.

“Kowloon,” Jongin says quietly. “Tao is around here somewhere, but he’s moving fast and stopped time.”

“Right, we don’t know what we are up against, so be alert. Jongin, stay close, but invisible. We don’t know when we will need a quick escape. We should split up and start looking. Jongdae, come with me.” Kyungsoo adjusts his goggles over his eyes.

“No,” Chanyeol nearly shouts and is reprimanded with a shush right away. “If we split up, what if something happens?”

“Tao’s life is at risk. This is the fastest was we can find him.” Kyungsoo explains coming up beside him. His eyes are hard, serious. But the corners around his mouth are soft as he faces Chanyeol. His hand twitches at his side almost wavering to touch the fire wielder. “We’ll be careful, but we have to try.”

Chanyeol nods resolutely. He intakes in a lungful of air, calming his nerves. When opens his eyes, Kyungsoo, Jongdae, and Jongin are gone. “Let’s go,” Chanyeol points down the alleyway to his right.

They listen for any hints of noise. The sound of their boots slapping the wet slimy floor echoes up the building’s wall, but nothing else. Chanyeol is very aware of the different temperatures around him, trying to find a heat source vaguely familiar to his own and Baekhyun’s.

“Let me know if you see anything,” Chanyeol whispers to Baekhyun.

“Trust me, I’m looking,” Baekhyun responds.

They keep walking in silence until they reach a dead end to an old, peeling warehouse. Dark empty windows, ominous in the sliver of moonlight. Dumpsters line the back wall with pooling garbage. A rat skitters along the wall.

“Should we turn back?” Baekhyun asks tearing his eyes away from the grimy sight.

“I—”

A crash inside is heard, and Baekhyun and Chanyeol share a look.

“Alert the others.” Chanyeol says without hesitating to climb up on the lid of the dumpster. His fingers curl onto the edge of the window. He grunts as he hoists himself up and jumps through the window. When he lands on the cold cemented ground, the building is back to being silent. He is currently standing in an office of sorts with a dusty, scratched up desk, and shavings of the wall and ceiling littered around the floor.

“Oof,” Baekhyun lands on his feet, stepping inside. “Place needs a good renovation. You think he’s in here?”

Together, they exit the room and find themselves on a second-floor strip that overviews an open, empty space below. There are wooden pallets scattered across the floor along with discarded trash and fallen metal shelves. No sign of movement.

“Could’ve just been another rat.” Chanyeol mutters.

Baekhyun shakes his head, “No, there’s something…”

“Duck!” Suddenly, as Chanyeol and Baekhyun turn around, a large glass window shatters with obscure black figures come flying through. Chanyeol squats down, covering his face and body around in enough time to deflect the shards of glass raining down on them.

When it’s safe from flying glass, Chanyeol glances up to see Agent 10 frantically gesturing at them to hurry with strings of blood trickling down the side of his face. Chanyeol pulls Baekhyun with him as he stands, running down the runway following after Tao.

Chanyeol isn’t really sure what he’s running for but when he hears the squeak of metal, aching and groaning above them. He looks up to see a steel encased ceiling light swinging above, heavy enough to crush a person. It’s a good distance away from them as they dash down the steps, but then another set of footsteps coming from the opposite direction echoes in the empty warehouse.

“Chanyeol,” Kyungsoo calls with Jongdae a few steps behind him with wide eyes trained on the trio.

The squeal of the overhanging light gets louder, swinging violently above just where Kyungsoo stands. Chanyeol notices it just as the ceiling light shutters with a final quake. Its hinges give out and descends below, its target still underneath.

“Kyungsoo!” Chanyeol bellows, jumping over the railing, skipping the last steps. His eyes are solely focused on Kyungsoo. His thoughts are clear, not on the piece of metal that’s falling faster than he can run, just on saving Kyungsoo. His lungs protest, running out of breath as he pushes himself harder, legs stretching.

He’s inches away from Kyungsoo, arms poised, ready to curl his body into his, sheltering him. Kyungsoo’s ready, hands reaching out for him. When they collide, Chanyeol twists his body, tucking Kyungsoo into his chest. They land hard against the cold, hard floor. Chanyeol cries out as something slides into his skin above his elbow. His head rolls back, watching the slow fall of the steel light and Tao’s palm outstretched, slowing time. He drops it when they are safe, the light crunching against the ground.

“So, the great twelve finally have made it back together.” A distant deep voice resounds in the warehouse. “Or should I say ten, now. No worries, there will be less of you when I’m done.” A tall man in a black trench coat appears at the end of the warehouse. Chanyeol can’t pick out a face, just the outline and a shadow shrouding the person’s features.

“Who are you?” Jongdae asks.

There’s a short, humorless laughter. “It doesn’t matter who I am, but who I am made up of.”

Chanyeol eyebrows wrinkle, a question forming in his head. He hears Baekhyun’s incredulous ‘what’.

“So, who’s next?”

Kyungsoo gets off of Chanyeol, offering a hand to help him stand. Chanyeol bites his lip hard trying to not cry out in pain. He turns back to see a thin metal pole dripping in his blood. His hand goes to cup the back of his arm feeling the warm liquid already seeping through his fingers.

Tao walks past the fallen light, “You don’t know who you are messing with.”

“Do I?” Another empty chuckle, “That explains why you’ve lost two of your own already. Who were they?” The man hums, dawdling, “Agent 2 and Agent 3.”

“What?” Tao stumbles back looking at his team, noting Baekhyun’s solemn expression, the hard slant of Jongdae’s mouth and the anger striking electricity in his eyes. Chanyeol shakes his head in disgust remembering Luhan’s pleas, Yifan’s final words.

Chanyeol can’t help but watch the realization dawns up Tao’s face. The flicker of memories behind his eyes, perhaps the last moment he saw the two alive, Tao’s chest rises heavily. His expression turns steely, fuming with devastation. “No! You monster!” Tao bites, body shuddering with anger.

“Tao,” Kyungsoo warns. “Keep your head on straight.”

The time wielder shoots Kyungsoo a glare before storming over to a pile of wreckage and pulling out a metal pipe that’s half the length of his body. “You’ll pay,” Tao threatens, lips curling in a menacing smirk.

The stranger scoffs, then spreads his legs, arms tucked, “Give me your best shot.”

Tao runs forwards, leaping over debris as the building begins to shake.

“What is that?” Baekhyun asks, keeping balances with his legs bent.

Kyungsoo searches widely for the source, “It’s not the earth. It’s…him.” His eyes fall on the dark figure leaping up just as Tao swings with the pole. The man hovers in the air, defying laws of gravity. “Tao! Watch out!” A blue tin shelf comes flying forward at Tao’s turned back.

Agent 10 spins just into with the shelf colliding into him.

“That’s Luhan’s power and Yifan’s.” Jongdae processes.

Then it seems like Tao has stopped time even for Chanyeol. He watches slowly, almost frozen as Kyungsoo lunges forward, earth breaking through the cemented floors and raising Tao up to face their opponent. Jongdae, too, follows with a string of lightning bending around his fingers in dangerous crackles. Baekhyun directs light on the man, trying to blind him while Tao attacks.

Chanyeol feels like he has to do something. Removing his hand from his arm, sparks glitter over his palms before bursting into softball-sized flames. He alternates between hands, tossing fireballs at the man. What he learns quickly is how easily the man deflects each ball of fire and light, each chunk of rock spinning for his head, each jab Tao offers, like he knows their moves before they make it.

Chanyeol pauses. Luhan could read minds, control the objects around him. Right now, the man is lifting his fist. A pile of glass shards follows up, rising in mid-air. Then, the shards come flying in like a swarm of insects directly at Tao and Kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo notices it in time and creates a rocky barrier around himself and Tao.

The man knows most of their moves…unless they manage to overwhelm him with a jumble of thoughts. Luhan would get massive headaches when too many people were thinking, or he couldn’t just concentrate on one thought. It’s worth a try. If Chanyeol’s suspicious are correct, that the man possesses the same powers that Agent 2 and 3 have, then maybe he doesn’t have complete control of his powers just yet.

“Baekhyun, can you send a bunch of shadows at him and just keep thinking.” Chanyeol tell him

“Chan—”

“Do it!” Chanyeol hisses, instructing the others to do the same through their wristbands. “Don’t slow down time, Tao. It will give him time to think, and we don’t want that. Keep firing at him Jongdae, but keep dividing up your thoughts, change angles. Anything to distract him.”

It seems to work. The man is becoming clumsier at dodging, having to use different objects around him to shield himself.

Chanyeol calms his body, heart clamoring in his chest. He draws in the heat around him, carefully trying not to steal any from the bodies around him. The heat swells around him, swarming in strokes of hot air, creating a hazy dome. He then channels all the energy to draw in between his palms, a spitting fire scorching his hands. He can’t control it for too long. It’s too dense, winding up in a ball of energy ready to explode.

“Get them out of here, Jongin.” Chanyeol whispers, hoping the teleporter knows that he’s asking him to step in.

“Chanyeol, no!” Kyungsoo cries out from the distance. It’s enough to have the man concentrate on one single thought: Chanyeol’s.

Fire is raging through his hand, spouting in a straight line, catching whatever is flammable on fire. It’s vicious, the crisp oranges and white, the puff of black smoke as it speeds for the man. The heat is too heavy though, and anything glass that is left in contact shatters.

Through the clouds of flames, Chanyeol seem the man’s face. Half is covered by a glossy mask, but he sees the dark smile spreading over blackened teeth. The man’s arm straightens, the inside of his palm facing himself. The last image Chanyeol sees is Tao flying, the pipe he was using trailing after him, and the sudden frigidness settling in his bones.

 

 

“Chanyeol, your hair is on fire.” Kyungsoo quirked his lips, looking over the table where a scanner was displaying a holographic screen, probably a novel Kyungsoo managed to swipe.

Chanyeol blinked, then looked at his reflection in the aluminum tables. Flames licked up his strands. “Ugh,” he patted the fire out, cringing at the bitter smell of his hair burned. “I should just cut it.”

“Joonmyun can help you with that. What’s on your mind? You haven’t accidently caught yourself on fire in a while.”

Chanyeol flushed, picking at his white jumpsuit, Kyungsoo wearing an identical one, “Nothing, really.” It wasn’t. Just Kyungsoo. He was thinking about what their life would be like if they didn’t grow up in a research lab. Perhaps, Chanyeol would work at a hover port, and Kyungsoo would come in with hovercraft broken. Chanyeol would be charmed by the other’s sarcastic remarks. Or maybe they would meet in a clumsier fashion with Chanyeol running into him on the streets. If things were like that, Chanyeol wouldn’t hesitate to spend his life with the other.

In every scenario, Chanyeol knew he would end up falling for the other because every other situation is brighter, happier than the reality they had. They could meet like real people. Fall in love. Have a family. Never have to think if they will make it to the next day without experiencing some pain.

Falling in love lead to Chanyeol thinking about actually kissing Kyungsoo, and it spiraled in heat exploding atop his head.

“Right,” Kyungsoo agreed convincingly with a teasing smile.

“Yixing told me they want you to make underground bunkers.” Chanyeol changed the topic. However, he frowned when Kyungsoo’s smile fell. They couldn’t even forget for a moment. Chanyeol was terrified of that.

“You know I won’t be able to get out of it. They’ll make me.” Kyungsoo shuddered. Chanyeol did know. They had heard about the chips that they were planning to insert in their brains and control them like a robotic military weapon. Kyungsoo wasn’t the first one to be threatened with getting a chip in his head to do what the officials wanted.

“We just have to get out before then. Some could escape safely if they have a bunker, and then we will just be back at step one. We have to destroy the facility.” Chanyeol lowered voice. They could be listening to anything they say through the cameras.

“You do realize that it’s most likely we won’t all make it out alive?” Kyungsoo gnawed on the inside of his cheek.

“I’m not leaving you,” Chanyeol paused, reaching across the table to curl his fingers over Kyungsoo’s knuckles. Like this, he could feel Kyungsoo’s heartbeat pulsing, his warmth spinning around his wrist. “Or any of the rest behind. We are in this together.”

Chanyeol hoped Kyungsoo understood. Chanyeol would never leave Kyungsoo behind. It was pointless. Times like this, where Chanyeol could just be himself, the stress dispersing as soon as he had Kyungsoo close, were invaluable.

Kyungsoo smile was back, full force. His pink lips shined under the fluorescent white lights, cheeks glossing, eyes crinkling into sparkling stars. Chanyeol smiled back, unable to resist. Kyungsoo’s grin was infectious. If he was happy, Chanyeol was definitely happy.

 

“Kyungsoo has been holding them back. If we don’t go now, we might never get out.” Baekhyun urged, desperately. “We have to destroy the facility. We don’t have much of a choice.”

“And we will just leave him to die?” Chanyeol nearly screamed. “We can’t leave him.” _I’m not leaving you._ “I’m not leaving without Kyungsoo even if it kills me.”

“Chanyeol,” Baekhyun weakened. He was one of the strongest on the team, seeing him falter had Chanyeol swallowing a lump in his throat. A loud explosion made their unit shudder. They didn’t have much time.

“Go, Baekhyun!” Chanyeol bellowed. He channeled heat around his palms, little sparks flickering around his fingers, ready to ignite into whips of flames.

He weaved around the hallway. The lights flickered, the constant humming of the temperature control and security stuttered as Chanyeol passed through. Adrenaline surged through his bones. He had to practice his breathing to not lose control while sprinting to where he thought Kyungsoo was: the control room.

The control room was a huge octagon room with a mirrored ceiling where they could see the sky, but no one could see in. Most of the officials, scientists, and even some of the political figures stayed cooped up in the room looking over the hundreds of monitors that observed their training grounds, their rooms, the mess hall, the loading dock, everywhere.

The most powerful of them would be in the room. How Kyungsoo was fending them off alone was mystery to Chanyeol. The officials had everything calculated. How to control them when they disobeyed, what to use to make them submit. Chanyeol needed to get there fast before they acted.

Chanyeol turned a corner, stumbling against the slick floors. The doors to the control room were a few feet away. He peeked through the windows before pressing on the metal bars to open the door. The control room looked chaotic, papers strewn everywhere, monitors smashed in. A wall of hundreds of monitors had a large sheet of metal lodged into the glass. There, in the middle combating two officials and four scientists, was a man covered in metal plates.

Chanyeol pushed through the doors, fire expanding from his fingertips. The metal man turned, his face was shielded by whatever metal he could wield to his body, but his eyes were vulnerable, widening when they spotted Chanyeol. An official used that moment of distraction to charge forward, a syringe in his hand, poised to sink into Kyungsoo’s skin to paralyze his movements.

Chanyeol sent a rope of fire around the official’s body without thinking, dragging him away from Kyungsoo and setting his lab coat on fire. He moved next to Kyungsoo creating a ring of fire around them, protecting them from the workers. However, Chanyeol could see one worker in the corner loading up a dart gun, probably for the fire wielder since he had no protection except for his suit.

“We have to get out of here,” Chanyeol said, pressing his back to Kyungsoo’s metal frame. He needed to know that he wasn’t alone. Kyungsoo was there with him, safe.

“You came back?” Kyungsoo’s voice was muffled, soft and surprised.

“Of course,” Chanyeol lit a computer closest to the scientist preparing to shoot a dart at him on fire. “I told you I would. There’s no one else I’d rather die with.”

Kyungsoo snorted, making Chanyeol smile despite their circumstances. “How valiant of you. A true hero.”

“Glad you can still find humor when we are facing death. Speaking of, we will die if we don’t get out of here soon.”

Across the room in another set of double doors, Chanyeol could see men in pristine white suits marching down the hall with laser guns, fueled up with purple liquid. They started shifting toward the doors Chanyeol had come through, Kyungsoo taking big, clanking steps and Chanyeol widening the circumference of his fire ring.

“On the count of three, drop the firewall and get through the door. I need to destroy the security system to unlock the generator,” Kyungsoo instructed as they reached the exit.

“Hurry!”

The armed officers at the opposite exit were getting closer, and no matter what powers they had, they couldn’t protect themselves very long against their guns, not without Chanyeol having to set every single person on fire.

Kyungsoo nodded, bending the metal around his body and threw it across the room at a dashboard covered in buttons. Sparks flew, and a warning siren rang through the whole unit. Kyungsoo tossed another panel at an electrical shield just as the gunmen were closing in on the door. The lights in the room went out as Chanyeol wrapped an arm around Kyungsoo, throwing the both of them through the door.

Kyungsoo quickly bent the metal walls to fold over the door in a twisted knot. The sound of crunching metal drowning out the furious shouts from the control room. He looks over at Chanyeol, “You okay?”

“Yeah,” Chanyeol admitted breathlessly. “How long have you been hiding the fact you could control metal?”

Kyungsoo shrugged as if he wasn’t just in battle. “Kind of new. Been working on it in secret. Couldn’t let the officials have the upper hand.”

Chanyeol grinned, wanting to tug Kyungsoo in a hug. They were alive…for now. “Come on. Let’s go find the others.”

Chanyeol started to walk down the hallway when a small voice stopped him.

“Hey, um, Chanyeol…” Kyungsoo turned his face so Chanyeol couldn’t see his eyes. “Thanks for coming for me.”

Chanyeol’s heart stuttered, skipped when Kyungsoo offered him a sweet, shy smile that bloomed in Chanyeol’s chest. His words were lost on his tongue when Kyungsoo strided forward, slipping his fingers into the spaces between Chanyeol’s. They would be okay, Chanyeol thought. They were going to make it out alive.

 

 

 “—thought you would’ve gotten smarter since the last time I saw you, but you’re still a bloody idiot.”

A person squawks, “Seok, how could you say that? Just because I didn’t go to a university, doesn’t mean I’m not smart.”

“I never said you were dumb, Baekhyun. You just don’t use what common sense you have. And I didn’t just go to university, I got my Ph.D.”

Chanyeol blinks, light burning his retinas. Sitting across the room is Baekhyun, and Agent 1, Minseok. They continue to argue softly as if trying not to raise their voices for Chanyeol’s sake. Chanyeol tries to sit up, but a dull ache grows in his abdomen. He looks down his chest to see bandages wrapped around his torso. He lets out a hiss drawing the attention of the other males in the room.

“Chanyeol! You’re up. I’ll go get Yixing.”

“And Kyungsoo,” Minseok softly adds as Baekhyun runs out the door. He draws his chair over to the side of the bed peering at Chanyeol.

Chanyeol furrows his eyebrows, gritting his teeth as he tries to relax. He’s tense now, making the pain more prominent. “Minseok, when did you get here? Where are we? Is Tao—”

“Woah, woah, calm down. One question at a time. We are at what I call our headquarters. A few years ago, Joonmyun, Luhan, and I found this place for us to hide just in case something like this happened. Jongin brought you here, and I got here two days ago. You’ve been passed out the entire time.”

“And Tao?” Chanyeol urges.

Minseok looks away, thin lips pressed together. “He didn’t make it.”

Chanyeol wants to apologize. He feels like it’s his fault. He should have warned him. Protected him. Chanyeol forces the flickering images of Tao falling, the sound of him crumbling against the ground, the sickening noise of the pipe out of his head… He looks wildly and finds a trashcan next to him. He grabs at it, just in time to wretch whatever was in his empty stomach. He spits the putrid taste in his mouth, grimacing at how gross he feels.

Minseok places a cool hand on his back, rubbing over the taut skin.

“Sorry,” Chanyeol apologizes.

“Don’t be sorry. Here, drink,” Minseok offers a glass of water, placing it at Chanyeol’s chapped lips. “You’re probably dehydrated.”

The water is cool, sliding down Chanyeol’s throat and chilling the heated ache from his stomach. He hears footsteps and voices getting closer and closer until Yixing is rushing to his bedside with Baekhyun in tow. Over Baekhyun’s shoulders is Kyungsoo standing timidly by the door. Chanyeol turns away to listen to Yixing whispering to him.

“Three broken ribs, one punctured on kidney, and some internal bleeding. Luckily, no burns. They really designed your suit well because from what Kyungsoo described, you should’ve taken some nasty burns. Your ribs are almost healed, but the punctured kidney, I had to go surgically in a patch up the area. So, what you’re feeling is from that and the remaining pain of your ribs. How are you feeling?”

Chanyeol lays his head back down. “Alive. Sore, but the pain is manageable.”

Minseok scoffs, “You can hardly sit up. He’s putting on a brave face, Xing. Don’t let him trick you.”

Yixing gives a forced half-smile. “Well, let’s see what I can do, and maybe you’ll be able to get up.” His hands hover over Chanyeol’s torso. A warm fuzzy feeling starts below his sternum, spreading until Chanyeol is feeling drowsy despite having been asleep for a few days. The pain subsides as the fire wielder slips into another fit of slumber.

 

Chanyeol wakes up this time in a silent room besides the white noise of an air conditioner. The lights are off except the distant yellow glow coming from outside the open door and down the hall. Chanyeol sighs, trying to sit up. The pain is not as present. Yixing’s healing must have done the trick. His legs shift when it brushes against something hard.

Chanyeol looks down the foot of his head, noticing he isn’t alone. Sitting on ground at the foot of his bed is Kyungsoo. Chanyeol can’t see his face, but his body is still. He takes a sip of the refilled glass of water before leaning over to brush at the greasy strands of Kyungsoo’s hair.

Kyungsoo stirs, waking and whipping around to gaze at him with wide eyes. “You’re awake.”

“Yeah, feel like I could sleep for another day.”

Kyungsoo smiles softly. They let silence sit over them.

Chanyeol occasionally drinks his water, but he keeps his gaze to Kyungsoo. His face is tilted up where the back of his head rests on the edge of the bed. He looks peaceful with his eyes shut, nose slanted, plump lips resting partially parted. Chanyeol licks over his own chapped pair.

“I’m sorry.” Chanyeol speaks softly. “What happened to Tao—I,” Chanyeol fumbles for the right words, his tongue swelling in his mouth. He doesn’t realize he is crying until fingers are smoothing over his cheeks, wet and colder than Chanyeol’s body heat.

“It’s not your fault,” Kyungsoo has moved to sit on the bed, his body twisted towards Chanyeol as he shakes his head looking so softly at Chanyeol. It makes Chanyeol only lose control a bit more. His breath chokes, shuddering to Kyungsoo’s low hushing. “It’s okay, Chanyeol. You did nothing wrong.”

Chanyeol tries to grapple onto something, his fingers finding their way around Kyungsoo’s waist, holding him close. Kyungsoo is sturdy in his arms, unwavering as Chanyeol’s breath turns staccato mixed with ugly sniffs and weighty exhales. “They- _hic-_ wouldn’t- _hic-_ have- _hic-_ died if- _hic-_ it wasn’t- _hic-_ for me.” Chanyeol confesses, words getting caught in his chest.

Kyungsoo runs a calming hand down his back. “Chanyeol,” he says so calmly, “look at me.”

Hesitantly, Chanyeol lifts his baleful eyes up at Kyungsoo. They are close. They haven’t been this close since leaving the facility. Chanyeol searches Kyungsoo’s face for the memory. For the same fond expression Kyungsoo would give him when he found Chanyeol especially endearing. Sometimes when Chanyeol was playful, Kyungsoo would respond with a tug to his ear, a small smile on his face. Chanyeol wonders if he will ever get that look again. It’s a simple thing to wish for, but Chanyeol’s life has never been simple.

Kyungsoo’s breath is even against Chanyeol’s cheeks. Chanyeol can’t decide where to look: at his mouth, where the delicate skin is pressed together, at his eyes, that are glittering ebony, his eyebrows, concentrated and concerned, meeting in the middle creating a little valley.

“Chanyeol, you did everything you could to keep everyone safe. If it wasn’t for you, we might all be dead. And Tao is not your fault—no, look at me.” Kyungsoo cups Chanyeol’s chin firmly with his thumb holding him in place. “We had no idea what we were up against, and we haven’t properly trained in years. You saved the rest of us. You were one of the first to react. We might not have gotten away if it wasn’t for your quick thinking.”

Chanyeol nuzzles his nose against Kyungsoo’s collarbone. He listens to the other’s heartbeat for a moment. “Do you ever think about what would happen if we weren’t who we are?”

“If we weren’t chosen? Sometimes, but we were all so young when we selected. I hardly remember what my real parents look like.”

“I used to hate my parents.” Chanyeol says softly. “When I was told I was going to be a superhero, I was all excited. The officials came to my house to tell me that I passed, and they made it sound so amazing. Then, when I…” He takes a deep breath, “When I got to the facility, it was anything but…I mean, you went through it all.” Chanyeol shudders.

Chanyeol was only a youngling. He remembers the hands holding him down, the needles sinking beneath his sink, the feeling of him being devoured by the fire inside-out. His senses were totally muted, engulfed by the feeling of being burned alive. He saw orange behind his eyelids, and his screams rung through his ears.

He resented his ‘gift,’ as the officials had called it, when it had first taken shape. He spent his younger years being forced to use his power, only to end up with burns on his hands and bruises on his body, punishment for not lighting the target on fire. He probably spent more time in the healing ward than in his own room. Spent more time training to tame the flames than playing, just being a child.

“Just because we all went through it, doesn’t mean our experiences are the exact same.” Kyungsoo says. “We all react differently. It’s hard to accept because some days I really want to blame you for leaving, but then there were days I understood why you did it. You wanted to forget. Sometimes, I wish I could forget too.”

“If you had the choice between keep your memories or forgetting the past, which would you choose?” Chanyeol sits up to look into Kyungsoo’s eyes. He wants to see the honesty in the other’s answer.

“I would choose to remember.” Kyungsoo replies quietly. Chanyeol peers at him, checking for any waver, but Kyungsoo is steady, so sure of himself, and he looks at Chanyeol deeply with a solid stare that is so vulnerable. “There were many bad moments, but those few memories with you…” Chanyeol’s heart stutters, then Kyungsoo looks away, eyebrows pulling together, “and with the others make it all worth it. I wouldn’t trade those memories for anything.”

Chanyeol pulls away, lips pressed together thinking.

“What would you choose?” Kyungsoo implores, his eyes back on the fire wielder.

“I…” Biting his lip, Chanyeol sees the fleeting pictures in his head: the moments he smiled, the moments he cried, the moments Kyungsoo was there right next to him. Would he give those up? He thought he wanted to, but now that he is reunited with everyone and seeing Kyungsoo again—

“I don’t think you would,” Kyungsoo answers for him simply. Chanyeol just looks at him dumbly, waiting for an explanation. “If you wanted to forget, you would have never reached out when you felt your powers flicker. You could have just ignored it all and continued living your life. You didn’t just respond because we would’ve died. Eventually one of us would realize that we were being killed off, and we all know the easiest way to forget is by death.”

Chanyeol swallows.

“I don’t think you want to forget, Chanyeol. Or else you would have never come back.”

 

 

Maybe Kyungsoo was right. Chanyeol didn’t want to forget. He wasted so much energy trying to erase the past in his head. The reason he is who he is, is because of his past. He did not necessarily sign up for the trauma or baggage his powers entailed. Young Chanyeol thought he was going to help people, save them. He still holds onto that childish dream of being a hero. He could have continued living his life in Sydney while keeping in touch with his team, but instead he cut whatever ties he had.

In a way, he thought he could forget. It would be less painful, but when Chanyeol would sleep, his dreams would transport him back to the facility reliving his life in his subconscious. Then he would wake, feeling like he was missing something big in his life, the flame in his chest flickering, and each day he chose to ignore it. It seemed like the safest choice at the time.

 

After Chanyeol feels well enough to walk around, Minseok and Joonmyun shows him around headquarters. The place, he is told, is located underneath a park in Yeouido-dong. Minseok had found it during his travels as an abandoned bunker. It is small with three rooms, an open area, and a tiny kitchen. The floor and walls are covered in the same white tile that makes the place feel more like an enclosed doctor’s office.

It slightly reminds Chanyeol of the facility, but Minseok told him Luhan had decorated the place with posters and comfy furniture years ago to make it feel homier. There’s a small plasma tv in the makeshift living room along with a fuzzy bright red rug that seems tacky against the plain black drop and muted furniture. Yixing and Jongin smile when they see Chanyeol enter the room from where they lounge on the couch.

“We removed all the bunks in your room to give you some space while you recovered.” Joonmyun tells him, showing the other rooms with multiple bunks pressed together and against the wall.

They return back to the living room after the short tour when they hear thundering footsteps coming from behind the steel doors. Baekhyun bursts through the doors with two plastic bags in his hand, “I brought fried chicken!”

Jongdae appears from behind him, lightly shoving him aside. “Yeah, but who paid for it?”

“Neither of you did, so I don’t want to hear it,” Kyungsoo grumbles, entering the room with Sehun looped around his arm. His eyes meet Chanyeol’s immediately, a loose smile playing on his face.

Chanyeol smiles back. Then, everyone gathers around, sitting on the loveseat and floor. Joonmyun passes out plates as everyone takes their own serving. Jongin serves beer that is stocked by the dozen in the corner of the kitchen counter.

Chanyeol folds his legs as he sits, taking a seat beside Sehun. “When did you get here?” he asks the wind wielder.

“While you were passed out,” Sehun responds blankly.

“How are you?” Chanyeol thanks Joonmyun when he is given a plate.

Sehun shrugs, but Chanyeol knows better than accept whatever dismissal action the other uses. Although Sehun is the youngest, he tends to act older than Chanyeol. He’ll be reserved and act self-righteous. It takes some prying for Sehun’s impassive character to crack before he is petulant and whiny, demanding to be taken care of. So Chanyeol scoots closer and massages the younger’s shoulders. Sehun relaxes under his touch and offers a small, tight smile. Chanyeol moves back to his spot, munching on dinner.

As Joonmyun takes a seat and fills his plate with greasy fingers, Baekhyun perks in his seat. “Are we not going to talk about Joonmyun living as a merman for the past decade? I really think that needs to be discussed.”

Sehun snorts over a glass of beer. “He has, like, zero pores from staying in the water that long. His skin lacks all proper moisture.”

“Seriously, what kind of hairstyle is this?” Jongdae picks a clump of hair, lifting it from Joonmyun’s ponytail.

Joonmyun whips his long hair out of Jongdae’s reach with a scowl. “It was in fashion while in Atlantis. I had to fit in somehow since I didn’t have a tail. Besides it was convenient while underwater. On land, it is everywhere. I can’t tame it as easily.”

“I can cut it if you want,” Kyungsoo offers. “I learned how to cut hair while on the farm. They don’t care much about style.”

“Thanks, I’ll take you up on that,” Joonmyun says.

“Please, not as short as you do your hair,” Sehun pleads. “It looks fine on you, but Joonmyun has a big forehead. He’ll look like a bobble head doll.” He screeches when a splash of water sprays his face out of nowhere.

Joonmyun grins smugly behind a chicken leg.

Kyungsoo rolls his eyes, “I only did mine this short because it was easier to manage when working under the sun all day.” He swats at Baekhyun’s hand that comes to pet the inch short strands.

It’s weird, Chanyeol observes, how calm and playful they act. For a moment, it as if they forgotten why they are together, forgotten that there are empty spots in the room that would’ve been filled by their lost comrades. He relaxes in the laughter and the jokes. He feels safe, secure, himself. He’s never fully experienced that.

In the facility, he was never truly safe, and in Sydney, where he thought he wouldn’t be harmed, he wasn’t himself.

Sehun eventually leans against Chanyeol, head on his shoulder watching Joonmyun and Minseok play a game in the kitchen to see who can soak the other person first. Joonmyun juggles balls of water at him, but Minseok keeps turning it into snowballs before sending it right back at Joonmyun. It’s soothing to watch.

Chanyeol glances over to see Kyungsoo watching him. He tilts his head in question, but Kyungsoo gives a small smile and goes back to talking to Yixing and Baekhyun. If they didn’t have powers, Chanyeol knows they all would still have been good friends. If they didn’t grow up in the facility, Chanyeol also thinks, he might have fallen in love.

 

 

During their camping underground, Kyungsoo discovers that the wall in the living room had been holed up recently. Recently, as in the last hundred years. He knocks it down easily, only to find that their wall connected with a wide-open tunnel, big enough for a train to pass through.

After cleaning up the rubble, they decide that the new addition of their makeshift headquarters will be their training room. It creates a draft in the living room, but Chanyeol tries to fix it by sending pulsing heat waves whenever it someone complains about it being chilly.

“So, you said that your power just vanished?” Joonmyun asks him while they are training.

Chanyeol straightens his stance trying to concentrate on keeping a ring of fire around him without it changing circumference. “Yeah, when Luhan passed, it felt like…all the fire in me was gone. It was only a few seconds, but it felt like an eternity. I knew something wasn’t right. The same thing happened with Yifan.”

Joonmyun’s eyebrows draw together, mouth in a thin line. Kyungsoo cut his hair a few days ago, and now his hair doesn’t fall into his eyes, bout rests softly against his forehead. “And with Tao?”

“I…” Chanyeol thinks back. That single second was so quick, but his body still remembers how the fire at his fingertips was suddenly gone, the strange emptiness and temperature drop of his body. “Yeah, I think so.”

“So, your powers are connected with the rest except, yours are affected when one of us dies?” Jongdae suggests uncertainly.

“Kyungsoo said my power ‘flickered’. When Tao died, I was using my power, and it just went away.” For demonstration, Chanyeol sucks in the heat into his palms, the flames evaporating.

Joonmyun stares at the spot the flames were at. “Did your powers get weaker?”

“I don’t think so. In fact, I think they’ve become harder to manage. I feel like I lose control easier.” Chanyeol thinks back to when Luhan died, how his skin had got heated up so quick, he could see fire behind his eyes. The adrenaline he felt, only fueled it. “Yixing said that I was the center. I can feel it if one of you dies because my power stems from you guys. When I was about to lose control, I was all alone. I didn’t feel that way when we were together.”

“That’s because we are stronger together.” Yixing’s voice includes. They turn to see him stepping inside, looking solemn, “As cheesy as it sounds. We were created to work together as a set of twelve. We are stronger that way. We are unbalanced now that we’ve lost Luhan, Yifan, and Tao. I have a hypothesis that because Chanyeol’s power is more directly linked to us, he feels a greater unbalance in himself which affects his power.”

“If,” Jongdae licks lips, considering his words, “if we die, what will happen to Chanyeol?”

“If it comes to that,” Yixing looks to Chanyeol, “Chanyeol’s power could consume him.”

 

 

“Let’s go for a walk.” Kyungsoo doesn’t offer but demands with a hard gaze on him. Chanyeol blinks up at him confusedly, but Kyungsoo’s lips falter into a small, terse smile. “C’mon,” he urges gently.

Chanyeol gets up from where he sits on his cot and follows Kyungsoo out of the room.

“Chanyeol and I are going to get some supplies for dinner.” Kyungsoo says to those sitting in the living room. They barely raise their heads to look at them. They walk together in silence. Chanyeol takes in the surroundings, enjoying the breath of fresh air and the cooling wind whispering into his nape.

The door of their bunker leads up to a set of stairs that is a block away from a park that stretches along the side of a river. It’s midday, but there already is traffic, bumper to bumper, on the path to the bridge up ahead. Business workers cross the street with the few stray walkers, exercising elderly, and the rare biker racing by.

Chanyeol looks down at Kyungsoo, who is observing the river carefully. He looks tired with rings under his eyes and lines forming around his eyes and mouth. His thumbs itch to smooth down the creases. He wants to know if his palm fits in the dips of Kyungsoo’s cheeks, if the tips of his fingers fill the groove of his temple, if his thumb sinks into the plush corner of his lips.

Chanyeol’s always known how dangerous his thoughts were when he was alone with Kyungsoo, but he’s never wanted to act on them so bad. It’s been too long, Chanyeol thinks, since the last time he’s felt the shorter’s touch. He likes to be physically affectionate with his friends, but it’s different with Kyungsoo. It has always been different. He craves Kyungsoo’s attention.

When they were in the facility, there were nights Chanyeol would sneak into Kyungsoo’s cabin to sleep, needing his warmth to help him sleep. Chanyeol would find some way to be close and feel Kyungsoo’s warmth because his body heat rattles his chest, makes his eyes heavy, liquifies his bones.

Selfishly, Chanyeol moves a little closer to Kyungsoo just to feel it.

“I was thinking,” Kyungsoo stops at a crosswalk. His gaze meets Chanyeol’s. “The guy who has been chasing us, does he seem familiar to you?”

The dark smile that gleamed with at the prospect of destruction appears in Chanyeol’s head. It’s haunting, knowing that smile would appear at the sight of him dead. “I don’t think so. Why? What are you thinking?”

“It seems odd that the person we are fighting has Luhan’s and Yifan’s power, no? He has nobody else’s powers except for the ones who are dead. Is that not strange to you?” The light turns green, and they begin to walk across. “I was talking to Baekhyun, and he had sworn that they guy seemed familiar to him. The more I think about, the more he does to me too.”

Kyungsoo leads him into a coffee shop, ordering a drink for the both of them. “I just can’t put my finger on it. It’s been driving me mad for the past couple of days.” He says, taking a seat in the back corner.

“How would you know them?” Chanyeol rests his elbows on the table, fingers cradling a steaming cup of hot chocolate.

Kyungsoo sucks in his cheek, chewing for a moment, “It has to be someone from home, from X2. Baekhyun and I have very little mutual memories on Earth, especially of the same man. But I know we destroyed the entire facility, no could have survived that.”

“Unless one escaped,” Chanyeol says.

“If so, then they must have known what we were planning and left before I locked all entrances and exits while in the control room.”

“Do you remember,” Chanyeol hesitates. He wants to ask if Kyungsoo could recount those last moments on their home planet. He’s sure the other does, but Chanyeol isn’t sure if he’s ready to face that memory head on. He shakes his head and forces a large grin out, “Have you been on a motorcycle?”

Kyungsoo blinks, “What?”

Chanyeol takes one last gulp of the hot chocolate, forgetting the temperature is warm, even in his hands. It scalds his tongue, but he ignores it, replacing the pain with his excitement. He grabs Kyungsoo’s elbow, pulling him out of his seat and out of the café.

There’s a motorcycle parked along the sidewalk with a helmet on the seat. Chanyeol grins at Kyungsoo’s very confused face and offers the helmet. When he doesn’t take it, Chanyeol fits it over his head, adjusting the straps so it is snug on his head. That seems to snap Kyungsoo into reality.

“What’re we doing?!” He steps back, wide, incredulous eyes on Chanyeol bending down working his way around the wires.

“We are going for a ride,” Chanyeol says simply looking at him.

“Chanyeol, this is against the law.” Kyungsoo hisses. “I don’t know what kind of outlaw, cowboy life you lead in Australia, but I am not a criminal.”

“Then why do you still have the helmet on?” Chanyeol can hear Kyungsoo fumbling over his words, stumped. He hears a shout in the distance, just when the ignition grumbles to life. “C’mon.” He tugs Kyungsoo closer to the bike, taking surprisingly not much force. He swings his leg over the seat and pats the spot behind him.

Kyungsoo gives him a pointed gaze before the shouts get loud enough that Chanyeol can hear their quick footsteps down the pavement. He panics, hopping onto the bike, fingers digging into Chanyeol’s side. Without wasting a second more, Chanyeol accelerates, whipping the motorcycle around against traffic to go the opposite. He can hear Kyungsoo screaming his name, making him laugh when Kyungsoo’s arm comes across his stomach.

The air whips past them, but Chanyeol can only feel the warmth bleeding of Kyungsoo’s chest against his back, his arm gripping around him tightly. Despite the traffic, Chanyeol weaves through the cars, passing by the green signs. He isn’t sure where he is going, but he wants to get out of the city.

“I will kill you when we get off this,” Kyungsoo promises over the wind.

The knots in Chanyeol’s chest, ones he didn’t know were even there, release with his laughter, dissipating with lungful of air. They pull off onto the freeway where traffic eases. Chanyeol uses this moment to glance back and see the easy smile on Kyungsoo’s face. The earlier stress that created sharp lines across his face are smooth, curled, soft. The speedometer jerks up a few kilometers, fire igniting behind the trail of their wheel.

Kyungsoo turns to look at him, a silent chuckle that is swept away by the surrounding wind and engine. “Show-off,” he mouths.

Chanyeol focuses back on the road, an easy smile on his face as they pass through mountains.

Chanyeol slows down when they reach more of the countryside, only an hour away from Seoul. He parks beside a rice field, cutting off the engine buy unattaching the wires. He stretches, groaning when bones pop.

Kyungsoo slides off, taking off his helmet. He looks around the very empty fields and the quiet hum of insects. “Why are we here?”

“Thought we could use some fresh air,” Chanyeol picks up a rock and throws at Kyungsoo.

The earth wielder deflects it with his palm, cocking his head, a playful smile appearing. “Is that a challenge?”

Chanyeol rolls his shoulders, acts nonchalant, “You said it, not me.”

Kyungsoo cracks his fingers, “Oh, you’re on. Earth always beats fire.”

“In your dreams,” Chanyeol retaliates, lips spreading into a wide grin. A piece of earth hovers above Kyungsoo’s head, dirt cascading down. Chanyeol waits until he is sure Kyungsoo throws it to dodge. He ducks his head into his chest, rolling onto his back and pushing himself with the help of momentum to jump back into a stance. The rock lands where he was standing.

“That could’ve hurt me,” Chanyeol pouts.

Kyungsoo rolls his eyes, amused. “I would never hurt you,” he says, sending another rock at his head.

Chanyeol squats down on his left leg. He follows the tension of heat with his other leg, extending it out and spears of flames shoot out of his heel at Kyungsoo’s feet. Kyungsoo lifts each foot, a stack of earth following it until it looks like he stands on stilts of hard dirt, the fire scorching the ground around it.

Chanyeol’s palm is full of a hovering blaze. He juggles it around, preparing for Kyungsoo to do something. They stare at each other, Chanyeol scanning him for any movements, both with their eyes bright. When they were younger, they would do sparring matches just for fun, outside of the training realm. The would change game strategy, for example, it wasn’t always who won, but who used the most interesting technique. Chanyeol won most of those. If it was who actually won with the upper hand, it was Kyungsoo almost every single time. Chanyeol got distracted often by the little things: Kyungsoo licking his lips, his body heat pulsing for Chanyeol to steal and snap into sparks, his actions that made Chanyeol believed he had bested the other, but Kyungsoo was just waiting for him to get closer and trap him in a cylinder of earth when he least expected it.

At some point, Chanyeol had just thought he was a bad fighter that maybe he wasn’t meant to save the day and be a hero. Then, he would win matches against Joonmyun and conclude that it was just Kyungsoo…

Suddenly his vision is covered with a large boulder progressing straight at him. Chanyeol leaps out of the way. Startled and unthinking, he sends a powerful blast that moves in currents of red and orange, shaping of a dragon circling around Kyungsoo’s body.

Kyungsoo freezes up, arms pressed straight to his side. He flinches when the flames spit out pointed tongues undulating. Chanyeol smiles softly at the warm glow that lightens Kyungsoo’s face. He isn’t scared, maybe intrigued or surprised. He inches the fire-dragon to draw Kyungsoo closer by it closing in towards his back until Kyungsoo has to take a step forward to avoided being burned. He does it until there is a step separating them. The dragon disappears, and Chanyeol breathes in the smoke in their air.

It has always been Kyungsoo. He’s the one that makes forest fires spread in Chanyeol’s veins. He’s the flint that kindles his heartbeat to a racing speed. Kyungsoo, to him, is the candle glowing in Kyungsoo’s living quarters that glimmers from Chanyeol’s fingertip as they whisper into the early morning.

Chanyeol had wanted to forget it all. It was too damn scary. He didn’t understand why his heart felt like it would combust with having Kyungsoo so close, why it seemed like he could set the world on fire in a beautiful blaze when their touches felt like it meant more than a touch.

Chanyeol feels it now with Kyungsoo so close, their eyes always gravitated to each other. He drops his glaze to Kyungsoo’s chin, noting his full lips are quirked, fully flushed, and so kissable. It forms a huge lump in Chanyeol’s throat, his stomach feeling hot inside. And he’s terrified. He’s absolutely petrified, so he does what he does best and escapes.

Chanyeol takes a stumbling step back, keeping his gaze on Kyungsoo. His mouth is suddenly dry as he tries to break what tension is lingering between them, but his foot seizes on a rock sending him backwards. It is instinctive to reach out, fingers tangling in Kyungsoo’s shirt, taking him down with him. One of Chanyeol’s palm lands flat on the surface of the ground, easing his fall. His head still knocks into the dirt.

Clenching his eyes shut, he feels the dull pain spread across his body. His hand twitches, a warming vibration thrumming through the earth and bleeding into his skin. It’s faint, something Chanyeol hasn’t recognized before. He seeks after in stretching the invisible fingers of his power searching for that heat that he can grab onto and make into a tangible flame. It’s close. The unseen tendrils of warmth wrap around his fingers, he just had to pull through a barrier that stops him from making into sparks.

He opens his eyes, brows pulled tight, lips parted. He sees Kyungsoo’s arm right next to his head holding himself up from his body slamming into Chanyeol’s. Kyungsoo’s cocking his head staring at his own hand curiously. Chanyeol wonders if he feels the same strange source of power as he does, a clear pull that has him curious.

His hand is still grappled in Kyungsoo’s shirt, knuckles brushing his collarbone. Chanyeol removes it slowly, not sure why he does it, but his free hand laces through the spaces of Kyungsoo’s that’s pressed into the soft dirt. The vibration gets stronger, hotter when he does it. Chanyeol concentrates harder, gasping when the earth beneath their hands starts to inflate, glowing bright red.

Kyungsoo has to pull away before his hands blister from the extreme temperature. However, the contact they keep remains, both standing up, fingers entwining loosely. The earth begins to quake, crumbling, splitting open with puffs of black smoke. Chanyeol’s nose burns when he breathes in. He goes to cover it, noting Kyungsoo doing the same by hooking the neckline of his shirt on the bridge of his nose.

Blinking blearily through the smoke and filling tear ducts, Chanyeol keeps tugging at the fire, like he’s gripping onto a rope in a game of tug-of-war. He doesn’t realize what he is truly grasping onto until he sees the bubbling, neon orange, liquid mantle surfacing.

Lava.

Part Earth. Part fire.

Breathless, Kyungsoo lets go of their hands immediately. The lava stops foaming to the surface, already cooling and turning black. The individual grains of dirt snap and pop under the intense heat.

Chanyeol has lost the feeling. He could easily make the residual heat into flames, but he can’t draw forth the lava. Kyungsoo isn’t looking at him when Chanyeol turns his body to the shorter. He isn’t exactly sure what to say. Instead of speaking, Chanyeol wraps his fingers around Kyungsoo’s wrist.

Sucking in a breath, more lava gurgles up. Chanyeol lets go.

 

 

“You guys have to see this,” Chanyeol says storming through their little hideout bunker dragging Kyungsoo by the arm. He doesn’t spare a look at the faces that perk up in alertness and just steps into their training room. He waits until the footsteps behind him settle before slipping his hand into Kyungsoo’s threading their fingers. Chanyeol ignores the fluttering warmth he feels in his heart, but draws out the vibration thrumming under his heels, shuddering up his bones.

The concrete bulges with earth into a split, rocks crumbling and spewing out of the crevice.

“Um, what are you doing?” Joonmyun’s dumbfounded voice breaks the rumble of earth.

Kyungsoo shushes him.

Chanyeol stays attentive on the fissure until the red-hot molten froths to the surface. It hisses. He pulls on the heat, tugging it by the invisible ties to bring the lava to their feet.

“What the fuck?” Jongdae cries out.

Chanyeol glances back, snipping the ties with the heat. He raises his and Kyungsoo’s linked fists, “Our powers are linked!” They separate, turning around.

“How is this possible?” Jongin asks.

Yixing crosses over the broken wall. He looks at hardening lava then to Chanyeol and Kyungsoo. “So, it is possible?”

“You knew about this?” Kyungsoo looked at him with a sharp eyebrow.

Yixing pondered for a second. “I only theorized, but I never actually believed it would work. I mean, some of our powers are all connected, so I would only think that maybe our powers were combined, but I just thought it was a silly idea.”

“You’re a mad genius,” Baekhyun says in awe. “What else do you know about our powers that you’re hiding?”

“Wait,” Sehun pipes up, “if Kyungsoo and Chanyeol are a human volcano together, does that mean Kyungsoo and I are a sand storm? Let’s go to the desert!”

“Perhaps?” Yixing shrugs. “I really haven’t figured it out.”

“We are not going to the desert.” Joonmyun glares at Sehun, the look softening immediately. “We can’t waste any time while we’re trying to figure out who is after us.”

“Ah.” Baekhyun nods. “Speaking of, I have an idea. I think I know a way on how to figure out who is after us, but it’s not the most agreeable plan.” He wrenches his hands looking over everyone’s face.

“Oh my gosh, just tell us, Baekhyun. We don’t need the suspense.” Jongdae snaps.

Baekhyun raises his palms. “Okay, okay, okay. I think we can find some clues at the facility. Yixing and I would go back to search see if we can find anything out about him. He also wants to find out how this guy has the same powers as Tao, Luhan, and Yifan.”

“No! No, no, no,” Joonmyun repeats animatedly. “That is incredibly dangerous.”

“It’s either that or I seek out guy myself. We have nothing on him, Joonmyun. We can’t win this by playing safe,” Baekhyun tells him.

“Why would you want to return?” Sehun asks, “After everything they did to us?”

“Yeah,” Jongin says, his lips tightening in a line. He crosses his arms over his chest, “If you think I am teleporting you back there, you’re dead wrong.”

Kyungsoo steps over to Jongin, leaving Chanyeol’s side. He draws the younger into his side, soothing him with a calming hand down his back. “Even after everything they did to us, whoever is trying to kill us is doing something worse. We survived the facility. It’s our job to protect each other and stop this person before anyone else gets hurt or killed.”

 “We can finally become the superheroes we thought we were going to be.” Chanyeol chimes in, offering a warming smile to Jongin and Sehun. They both seem reluctant, but the tension in Jongin’s shoulders lessen.

“Fine, but I am teleporting us out of there the second something seems suspicious.” Jongin warns with a pout.

Baekhyun claps his hands. “In that case, we need a game plan.”

So, sitting around the little campfire of hardening lava, they decide Baekhyun, Jongin, and Yixing will return to the facility. Meanwhile, Kyungsoo mentions needing to check on his farm which Chanyeol volunteers to go with him, so no one will be left alone in case their mysterious attacker decided to make an appearance. Their journey will begin tomorrow.

 

 

“Do not suck all the heat from my plants,” Kyungsoo threatens, barely even glancing over at the fire wielder from where he is crouched, palm against the earth.

They are standing at the edge of a field of corn of Kyungsoo’s farm. Chanyeol pokes at the lump of corn hidden in a sheath of green.

“Harvesting season is a bit late this year,” Kyungsoo says while standing up. He holds out his palm full of brown dirt, sifting through it with his finger.

“You can tell that by feeling the ground?” Chanyeol blinks at him, amazed.

“No, I can tell that because half of the harvest isn’t ready,” Kyungsoo deadpans.

His farm is doing well. Next season they have to rotate the crops, and Kyungsoo has mapped out the plans with the other farmers that work for him. So far Chanyeol has only helped by feeding the hens and collecting their eggs. Kyungsoo refuses to let him go anywhere near the crops.

“I can’t have you burn my potatoes. If you set a chicken on fire, at least we can eat it afterwards,” Kyungsoo had said. Chanyeol whined thoroughly before Kyungsoo appeased him by letting Chanyeol drive the largest tractor he’s ever seen down Kyungsoo’s dirt road driveway. It was worth it.

Chanyeol finds the time spent on Kyungsoo’s farm relaxing. He almost forgets that Baekhyun and Yixing are scrounging in the depths of their crumpled facility although Baekhyun is constantly communicating with everyone through the wristbands. Even Jongin is heard laughing over it once in a while.

On the second day, Chanyeol is fixing breakfast for dinner when Kyungsoo enters the kitchen holding his muddy boots in his hand and his flannel shirt soaked through.

“I guess the crops are getting fed.” Chanyeol smiles, wiping his hands on one of the aprons he found in a drawer. He hands a dish towel over to catch the droplets clinging to Kyungsoo’s face.

Kyungsoo takes it gratefully, wiping over his forehead. His eyes are immediately trained on Chanyeol standing in the middle of the kitchen. Chanyeol can’t tell what he’s thinking, but the moment seems to last longer than needed. “It smells good,” Kyungsoo finally says, eyes falling to the pans that have steam rising to the overhanging microwave.

“Go clean up. Dinner will be done when you are dressed.” Chanyeol turns back around to attend to some bacon.

Kyungsoo comes back down in soft, loose pants and a black cotton shirt. He brushes his bangs up, the drying strands dusting over his eyebrows. Chanyeol watches him from the corner of his eyes as he sets the table. He wants to reach out and just pull Kyungsoo into a hug.

“You made so much food.” Kyungsoo scans the table that is covered with full plates.

Chanyeol shrugs, “You cooked for us last time we were here, so I thought I would try. I almost didn’t succeed. The oven was very stubborn.”

Kyungsoo snorts. “Don’t I know. I need to get it replaced, but I haven’t had much time to go out and search for a decent one. I might even have to remodel the entire kitchen. Everything except the dishwasher and microwave are at least over twenty years old. The couple that owned the farm didn’t even have a microwave when I moved in.”

They sit down and start filling their plates with food.

“Jongin said they are traveling back.” Chanyeol mentions, stabbing a pancake with his fork.

“I heard. He’ll probably come over tomorrow and pick us up.”

Underneath the table, Chanyeol can feel the radiating heat from Kyungsoo’s feet close to his. Chanyeol wants to touch, has always wanted to reach out and just be near him, but the breath in his chest catches in his chest, and he remembers. _Burn_.

“Um,” Kyungsoo clears his throat. “It seems like you found your way around the kitchen.” His poised butter knife points to the apron Chanyeol is still wearing.

“Oh!” Chanyeol smooths over the pocket in the front. “Everything is pretty organized, so it wasn’t too hard.”

“You looked good. I mean—it’s nice to have someone kind of living with me, even if it is only for a few days.” Kyungsoo’s head is down, but Chanyeol notes the twinge of red blooming over the earth wielder’s ears.

“I like this place. It’s peaceful, and you have lots of pets. My apartment back in Australia was nice, but I could only have a small fish tank, and the neighbors were not nearly as friendly. Everyone was decently friendly if I was wearing normal clothes.” Chanyeol chuckles. “I wore my suit the first time I was here, and someone passing gave me the most judgmental look. But today, since I looked normal, some guy dropped off half a dozen eggs and chatted with me while you were gone.”

“Ah, yes. People are fairly chatty and trusting. That’s how I came to live here. The older couple was so talkative and kind.”

“I bet you loved that.” Chanyeol grins teasingly.

Kyungsoo tears off a bite of bacon, grease making his lips slick. “I did. It was a nice noise compared to the city. They kind of reminded me of you,” he says, blinking up carefully watching the other.

Chanyeol cocks his head reaching for his drink. He is about to ask for an explanation when Kyungsoo offers it.

“They welcomed me immediately into a new environment without asking for a thing in return, like you did.” Chanyeol swallows tightly. “I think I just got greedy and expected something out of you that you didn’t want. I’m sorry, Chanyeol. I never meant any harm. I understand why you left now.”

Chanyeol stares flabbergasted wondering how exactly the tone turned so sharply. Kyungsoo seems to shut down, shoulders rolling forward as he scoops food into his mouth. Where did he go wrong? Chanyeol questions himself, floundering for the right words to say because Kyungsoo has it all wrong…completely.

Chanyeol wanted it. Him. But the same haunting words erupt in his head when Chanyeol finally felt like he had Kyungsoo. _Burn him._

Chanyeol’s mouth goes dry. “I—”

“You don’t have to say anything, Chanyeol. It was silly of me,” Kyungsoo rambles, and he never rambles.

“Stop,” Chanyeol says, shutting his eyes tight and willing the memory of the voice to go away. “You’re wrong. I…Kyungsoo,” Chanyeol hesitates while speaking. He couldn’t _tell_ him, but he couldn’t just let Kyungsoo believe Chanyeol didn’t care for him.

Kyungsoo waits, clearly listening, his fork vacillating above the table. Chanyeol takes a deep breath.

“I care about you. Since the start. At some point, I started having feelings for you.” Chanyeol wants to stretch out and wrap his hand around Kyungsoo’s. He wants to bring him warmth and happiness, but he doesn’t trust himself to do that without someone getting burned. “And I haven’t stopped.”

Kyungsoo’s eyes snap up, shock and something else looking back at Chanyeol.

“I can’t explain everything to you, not yet. But know it wasn’t because I didn’t love you. I just,” Chanyeol says, tapping his fingers against his knee and his throat constricts underneath his skin, “I left because I was afraid.”

Kyungsoo’s forearm rests against the edge of the table. “What were you afraid of?”

 _Burn. Fire._ Chanyeol remembers it as if it was only a day ago when he was consumed with the need to expel the energy in his chest and shape it into destructive red flames. If Kyungsoo knows, he might never look at Chanyeol the same. When they were traveling back to earth, Chanyeol decided he didn’t want to lie. He knew he couldn’t. Kyungsoo would see through it right away, so Chanyeol ran. Ran as far as he could so no one could find him easily.

Chanyeol wants to run now. Out into the fields or hop on horse like some dramatic western movie scene. Instead, he stays pinned by the stare that’s on him. Kyungsoo deserves so much more than that, more than Chanyeol can offer him.

Chanyeol’s breathing gets shallower as the words climb up his throat and weigh down on his tongue. He suddenly feels as if his cheeks are on fire, the blood pumping fast in neck as he starts to shake vehemently.

“Hey.” A soothing hand cups his nape. Chanyeol didn’t even notice Kyungsoo had moved. Kyungsoo’s voice cools his temple. “It’s okay. You don’t have tell me right now. Inhale with me. Deeply, Chanyeol. Exhale. Come on, Chanyeol. That’s it.”

Chanyeol feels the lightest pressure dotting his head as his lungs stop trying to flatten against the back of his ribcage. Kyungsoo peppers featherlight kisses to top of his head, his fingers massaging underneath the curls. Chanyeol melts into it, too drained to even memorize the heat against his head and tuck it a file of ‘Kyungsoo’s touches that burn up my insides’.

That night, Chanyeol and Kyungsoo stay up watching the stars, stretching in the rocking chairs on the porch. Kyungsoo’s hand lingers over Chanyeol’s, light and cautious as if Chanyeol could pull away and Kyungsoo wouldn’t even notice. Chanyeol makes sure to squeeze gently every so often to remind Kyungsoo _hey, I’m here, I’m not going anywhere_.

They share their stories of how they got where they are. Chanyeol smiles so wide that his cheeks ache, and Kyungsoo has that natural glow, flush with sleepiness. They stay up until Kyungsoo is blinking so very slowly, delaying more time with eyes closed each blink. Falling into bed, Chanyeol feels _normal_ , like this was his everyday life. Here. With Kyungsoo.

 

 

 

Chanyeol roused in his bed when he heard consistent taps to his door. His feet kicked off the bed as he padded over to it. He couldn’t understand why someone would be at his door. The whole team was exhausted after trying on the suits today and doing a test run while filming a promo. In a few weeks, they would finally go out in public as heroes, designed to save the citizens of their planet from destruction.

Chanyeol yawned, pressing his hand to the scanner, the door unhinging. When he opened it peering into the hallway, he saw Baekhyun staring at him with a blank face. His hand darted out grabbing Chanyeol’s wrist and dragging him forward with sudden strength. Chanyeol stumbled after Baekhyun, following him into darkness as Baekhyun took out the fluorescent lights.

“What—?” Chanyeol began before Baekhyun hushed him sharply with wide, glowing eyes. Chanyeol stayed mute until Baekhyun pushed him jarringly into a dark closet in the hallway. He stumbled inside blindly, a groan mixing with his when his elbow slams into something hard.

Light filtered into the room from Baekhyun’s palm, and Chanyeol realized looking over his shoulder what his elbow knocked into. “Sorry, Tao,” Chanyeol muttered an apology. Scanning the closet, no one looked like they have a clue why they were shoved into this tiny spot. Kyungsoo gave him a half-smile, looking sleepy with hair angled in different directions.

“Okay,” Baekhyun whispered loudly, “everyone is here. Luhan, show them what you got.”

Luhan, hidden behind still growing Sehun, ducked around the boy and pulled out a tablet. An Official’s tablet.

“Why do you have that?” Jongin asked fearfully. He tried to step back as if the object would transform into an official before them.

“Just wait,” Luhan hissed, tapping on the screen until a little holograph filled the space in the middle where he was holding out the tablet. The projection was of a form.

“The Annexation of Amrah and Beyond,” Joonmyun read.

“Amrah? Isn’t that the planet was devising to destroy us?” Jongdae looked around for assurance, his eyebrows pulling tight.

Joonmyun continued. “The takeover of the galaxy will begin with 12 highly trained weapons beginning with the siege of X2’s government replacing the current leader with Dr. Greyson Lim. With the access to the military and the fearless 12 humanoid-like weapons leading the army to victory after victory until universal domination is complete.”

There was silence as this new twist of fate processed in their mind. Chanyeol felt the simmer of anger stewing under his skin.

“Weapons?” Yixing asked, “How would they even achieve that? We would never agree to it.”

Luhan muttered under his breath unintelligibly. Someone said ‘what,’ making Luhan clear his voice. “Manipulation. I—” he looked down at the floor before saying, “I’ve heard it from multiple officials and administrators while reading their minds. They were going to plant locators, or that’s what they were calling it, under our skin during our next physical before we’re allowed to go out on the field. But really this ‘locator’ would have access to the nerve system and our brain. I didn’t want to think it was real, and I couldn’t follow their train of thought afterwards, but that must be how they would control us.”

“You mean we went through years of torture only to be made into mindless bots!” Sehun nearly yelled. Joonmyun slid over to him to wrap an arm around the other. “We all nearly died at some point, and now they are going to strip us of our own selves.”

“We aren’t the only ones,” Luhan said somberly. “If you go through this file, it has all of our data in it, but there are others too. We weren’t specifically chosen for this. We were just the ones who survived.”

Luhan scrolled until he reached the picture of a young girl smiling. Her data was listed next to it, and in big bold letters stamped across was the word ‘INEFFECTIVE’. “There’s plenty more. You’ll find us scattered throughout that. We just so happened to survive their experimentation.”

Chanyeol stared at the girl’s stagnant gaze.

“So, what happened?” Jongin asked timidly from the back.

“Whatever chemicals they put in us, connected us to our powers. Those who didn’t make it, to put it nicely, the chemicals destroyed their insides.”

Jongin winced.

“They can’t get away with this. We have to do something.” Jongdae said firmly. If he spoke any louder, Chanyeol’s sure his voice would crack like thunder.

“What’re we supposed to do? We’ll be as good as dead if we don’t leave,” Sehun argued back. “Even if this was untrue and that they just didn’t kill innocent kids just for experimentation, from the way they treated us, I have no doubt that they’ll do whatever they can to get what they want.”

“Then let’s escape,” Baekhyun replied. He shrugged as if it as simple as it sounds. “Let’s come up with a plan before our physicals. Sehun is right. We might die under their hands if we stay, and who knows how many more people will die too because of us being mindless robots.”

“We could die if we leave too,” Joonmyun quietly whispered.

Kyungsoo raises his eyes up to Chanyeol’s. He wishes he knew what Kyungsoo was thinking. Chanyeol imagined for a quick second if one of them died, and tears began to well up in his eyes. It would be unbearable. But he also thought of the life they could live outside of the facility, the life Chanyeol sometimes found himself fantasizing about.

Chanyeol blinked. “Then we die trying.”

 

Chanyeol rouses with the brilliant sunlight peeping through the very thin calico curtains. He points his toes in a stretch, hand scratching at his exposed stomach before rolling to the edge of the bed. After brushing his teeth and barely managing his hair, Chanyeol hears music in the hallway and a soft voice echoing up the stairs.

He finds Kyungsoo in the kitchen doing the dishes they left last night. There’s a box of cereal partially open across the counter with a clean bowl and spoon next to it. Chanyeol smiles. “Morning,” he says turning around to watch Kyungsoo glance over his shoulder at him.

“Did you sleep well?”

“Yeah.” Chanyeol pours milk into his bowl and dips his spoon. “Has Jongin said when he’ll be here?”

“Soon,” Kyungsoo replies placing a pan on the drying rack. “He’s probably sleeping right now. Yixing had to heal him. Said he looked drained when they got back.”

“Did Baekhyun find the information he needed?”

“I think so. Yixing said they informed everyone what they know, so he’ll probably just have us catch up when we get back.”

Chanyeol thinks while chewing slowly. “Is everything okay here?”

“Well, I really can’t just drop everything, you know? We have to start prepping the fields for planting, and the farm next to mine wants to enter one of my pigs in a fair, but we are good for now. If I lose the farm, it won’t be that big of a deal. I can just start over again,” Kyungsoo says it so nonchalantly, but Chanyeol catches his tender look around the farmhouse.

“You like it here,” Chanyeol states.

Kyungsoo presses his lips together, putting the last dish to dry. “It’s nice. It’s familiar, but it never felt like,” he pauses before saying the last word so delicately, like a secret, “home.”

Chanyeol gets it. He never really knew what a home should feel like except maybe, a place you wouldn’t be willing to abandon. He was ready to do that in Australia. He was ready to do that at the facility. He did it to Kyungsoo.

“I just want this place to go to someone who cares. Who just won’t exploit the land. The people before, they entrusted me with it, so I feel like I owe to them, if I do leave, to pass it on to someone who loves it.”

“Where would you go?” Chanyeol asks quietly.

Kyungsoo peers at him. Chanyeol waits, hope dropping as the answer is delayed.

“Home,” Kyungsoo finally says. “I just have to find it.” He gives Chanyeol an indiscernible look.

Chanyeol feels something tight in his stomach, and he has to look away.

A beeping noise comes from their wristbands. “Come in, Agent 8 and Agent 9.” Jongin’s voice is clear from the little speaker.

In the muffled background, Joonmyun groans, “We are not in a spy movie!”

Kyungsoo rolls his eyes, pressing a button on the side to respond, “We are here.”

“Cool. I’ll be there in three, two.”

“One,” Jongin’s voice doesn’t come through the speaker, but from standing right next the table. “Hi!” he says perkily. “Ready?”

  


“I know who did it.” Baekhyun says as soon as Chanyeol, Kyungsoo, and Jongin arrive in the living room. It’s just them in the room with Yixing, and it is strangely quiet. Jongin teleported to wherever the rest are. “I’m not sure if you ever met him, but the person who was in control of the entire operation is this genius called the Doctor. I had met him briefly when I was learning how to control my powers. He had scared me, and I think I blinded him or something because he was suddenly furious with me, and I just remember his face and a lot of pain.” He grows solemn. They all do. Chanyeol remembers the punishments he experienced for not doing what they wanted.

“A lot of the files around were destroyed from the fire, and I’m not Luhan so I couldn’t hack into anything if it was salvageable. But we found this one vault that I’ve never seen before, and it had some stuff that Yixing was able to make out.” Baekhyun pulls out a file with a picture of Joonmyun as a child. Chanyeol holds it as Kyungsoo looks over his shoulder at it.

It all his information printed out, his blood type, his parent’s address, what academy he was in. Across it all is big, red printed letters spelling out APPROVED. Chanyeol’s eyebrows raise at it, “This almost looks like the other files that Luhan had shown us.”

“This is what they scanned, but this has way more details. It basically has all the lab reports, rather than just profiles. I could only find Joonmyun’s that was readable.” Baekhyun flips the page pointing the lab report. Chanyeol can barely understand, unfamiliar with the language.

Yixing, sitting beside Baekhyun reaches out to point some stuff out to Chanyeol and Kyungsoo. “This is the formula they injected in Joonmyun. The next page are the observations made after the chemicals were injected in Joonmyun’s blood stream. You’ll see that they kept something in the room that affects their power. Joonmyun had a glass of water and was only considered the experiment a success until the water reacted him.”

Yixing takes the file and flips all the way to the back.

Baekhyun leans back, feet clapping together. “Here is where it gets messed up.”

Yixing hands it back. “They had a theory that Joonmyun isn’t the only who can wield water. They hypothesized powers can be transferred by the consumption of the formula that has already positively reacted to one’s system.”

There’s a moment where the information sinks in.

“You can’t separate the formula?” Kyungsoo asks.

Yixing shakes his head.

Kyungsoo pales. “That’s fucked up.”

Chanyeol stands. The file falls to the ground. “You mean, this-this man, ‘the Doctor’, consumed Yifan’s and Luhan’s and Tao’s blood? That’s how he has their powers?” He feels like he is going to be sick.

Yixing nods. “It doesn’t have to be a lot. Just a little bit is enough to react to the bloodstream and transform all the compounds. The reaction is fairly quick. Together, the bind is stronger, but it is too much for one person to take at first, and too complex to adjust another after having one power. But intaking it this way, it’s the only way you can have all twelve powers and survive.”

“Are the others okay?” Kyungsoo looks a little green as well.

“Sehun locked himself in his room for a bit, but Joonmyun has been keeping an eye on him. Jongin didn’t give much of reaction. I think he’s trying to repress it.” Yixing closes the file, and air slowly starts to fill Chanyeol’s lungs again. He didn’t know he was holding his breath. “If they couldn’t manipulate with the chips, this was their back up plan.”

“It’s a hell of one.” Chanyeol grits through his teeth.

Baekhyun bites the inside of his cheek. “We are trying to come up with a plan to somehow find the Doctor and stop him before anyone gets hurt. We are sure he’s trying to collect all of our powers, but he can still do a great deal of damage with what he has now.”

“How do we find him?” Kyungsoo glances over to Chanyeol pacing around.

“That,” Baekhyun snaps his fingers, saying, “we are still trying to figure out. We are keeping our eyes peeled for any strange news around the world. Jongin is the only one though that can search around and get out of there fast.”

“Everyone needs to learn how to summon Jongin to our location. I discovered it when we were training a long time ago. It may come in handy. I will work on it with everybody once they come back.” Kyungsoo raises from his seat and pours a glass of water. He brings it Chanyeol, hand on his neck, drawing the glass up for him to drink.

Chanyeol takes it gratefully, barely able to offer a twinge of smile as he gulps. The coolness of the drink loosens the knots in his stomach.

“Better?” Kyungsoo keeps his hand on Chanyeol’s nape, fingers squeezing and drawing circles.

Chanyeol sets down the glass, and really, these past few weeks have been overwhelming. He’s not sure how he’s keeping up. Each moment his emotions are taking sharp turns, and his head is constantly swimming with confusion, anger, and want.

And god, there are so many things he wants. He wants justice. He wants to understand. He wants Kyungsoo fully, not just held at arm’s distance because he’s so, so, so scared.

It feels like the fire in his chest is clutching his lungs as he breathlessly says, “Yeah.”

He wonders if Kyungsoo feels the same thing, except it’s the weight of stones stacking on his chest, trapping him to his spot. Maybe that’s why neither of them moves. Chanyeol has to tiptoe, but Kyungsoo has to drag his feet.

“I’m going to go train some,” Chanyeol whispers, pointing to their training room.

Kyungsoo pinches the skin before letting go and stepping back from Chanyeol. “Okay.”

 

Kyungsoo has a halo of flowers around his head. Chanyeol wishes he had a camera to take a picture. They are at a little garden cafe with flowers dangling around the ceiling and one of the workers was working on crowns and placed one on top of Kyungsoo’s head.

“Try it now, Chanyeol.” Kyungsoo sips his grape smoothie.

Chanyeol closes his eyes and tries to summon Jongin. He goes through the steps in his head: a) clear your mind, b) picture your location and Jongin appearing--Chanyeol cracks a smile thinking of Kyungsoo’s frown when the crown as placed on top of his head.

“Be serious, Chanyeol!” Kyungsoo snaps.

The fire wielder bursts into laughter that causes the only worker to stare at him. “I’m trying,” he insists in between cackles, “but then- _ha_ -flowers!” Chanyeol slaps his knees until the laughter clears, and Kyungsoo’s glare is present. “I’ll try again,” he says, closing his eyes once again and definitely _not_ picturing how adorable Kyungsoo looks at this exact moment.

Chanyeol starts over with his steps: c) in his mind, he whispers Jongin’s name. A little breeze makes his nose crinkle. He peels one eye open. Jongin has his arm over Kyungsoo’s shoulder, grinning widely.

Chanyeol checks over the worker who is busy with cleaning the machine and hasn’t noticed the spontaneous appearance of another customer.

“You did it!” Jongin leaps to hug Chanyeol. “Finally. I was starting to think you were the only one who wouldn’t be able to do it.”

Chanyeol protests that it was a bluff. It isn’t true. He’s been trying for a whole week to summon Jongin to him, but he has failed each time. Everyone else could do it, except him. Chanyeol cheers and looks to Kyungsoo who has a fond smile on his lips.

The worker finally looks over and whiplashes at sight of Jongin without the sound of the bell at the front door.

“I think it’s time to go,” Kyungsoo says, standing. Jongin gives a half wave to the worker following Kyungsoo outside.

They aren’t that far from the headquarters, so they walk the distance enjoying the fresh air. They wait at the intersection where the steps to their place is. Jongin is talking animatedly about some music he heard playing at a passing restaurant. Chanyeol listens, glancing so often at the crosswalk sign. It stays on the red hand. Chanyeol pushes the pedestrian button on the side of a pole impatiently.

Nothing happens. In fact, nothing is happening at all. The cars aren’t moving. The people beside them aren’t moving. Not even the birds in the sky. Chanyeol turns to find Kyungsoo and Jongin looking just as baffled as him.

“Do you think--” Kyungsoo’s eyes flash, and all three are running to check on the others.

Storming down the stairs, they find the rest huddled in the living room. Everyone is alert, looking at them with hardened gazes.

“Time has stopped,” Minseok says.

“How are we going to find him?” Jongdae asks him. “The whole world is frozen. He could be anywhere.”

“I could find him,” Jongin timidly offers.

Baekhyun shakes his head. “There’s no way you can teleport around the whole world in time. He might have already destroyed the planet by then.”

“No, I mean I can find him the same way I can find you guys.”

“What?”

“I’ve been trying to see if I could connect to him like I can with you guys. I think I can. I might just not be as accurate. The connection is not as strong.” Jongin bites his lip with 8 pairs of eyes on him.

“Is everyone ready?” Joonmyun asks, checking everyone’s face. “Sehun?”

Sehun’s expression is stony. “I’m tired of being scared. He is going to pay for what he’s done.”

“Well, I guess I need to go suit up then.” Chanyeol lightens the mood only slightly.

“You are not wearing it underneath your clothes?” Someone asks.

Chanyeol changes quickly while explaining, “I wore my pair of shorts. It would look stupid.”

Baekhyun or Jongdae snorts. “Yeah, as if you are fashionista yourself.”

“Shut up.” Chanyeol fires back, walking back out. He takes a deep inhale. The air is heavy and tense.  
“Let’s go?”

Jongin sticks his arm out in the middle. Hand by hand they all grab on, shifting on their feet and glancing worriedly at each other.

“Should we say something?” Jongdae shrugs.

“Stay alive, Agents. Remember we’ve trained for this,” says Joonmyun.

Chanyeol feels the floor wiped out of their feet, vision going black.

 

  


 

Stepping onto the streets of New York, the air was heavy. Time had stopped along time again, pausing all tourists awed at Times Square, the business men and women frozen in their hasty pacing. There’s no sign of the Doctor.

“Ugh, I hate cities. I can’t feel as much.” Kyungsoo glares at the oiled, tar road as if it offends him greatly. Chanyeol weaves through the crowds of mannequin like people, trying not to disturb them by bumping into them.

“We should move them to safer spot,” Yixing says, stopping to stare into one person’s eyes. “The less people off the streets, the less casualties.”

“Let’s try to cover as much land and get the people off the street. Keep your eyes peeled for any sign of the Doctor. Notify us if you see anything suspicious.” Joonmyun orders. already heading to the heart of Times Square, gathering any source of water, mostly coming from the bottles and cups.

Chanyeol looks around to see where everyone else is going when he sees the slightest movement from a skybridge across the street. It was probably the nervousness and paranoia making him see things, but he crosses the street just to investigate. Everyone is occupied trying to get people off the street and indoors that they don’t notice Chanyeol stepping into a building.

It takes him a few minutes of searching to find the skybridge, but when he does, the Doctor is calmly sitting at a table watching the others. He has one leg over the other, seemingly relaxed even as he regards Chanyeol with a nod. He looks the same as the last time Chanyeol saw him in a black trench coat. Up this close, Chanyeol can take in his features: looming, slanted eyes, face smudged with black, lips cracked.

“Welcome, Agent 8. Take a seat.” The Doctor gestures with a slow hand to the chair in front of him.

Chanyeol brandishes his arms with fire, cautious. “I’d rather not,” he responds.

“No need to be so hostile. Come, let’s talk.”

Chanyeol stares into the veiny eyes of the Doctor. Flames hover over Chanyeol’s hands, ready to light the man on fire. “You killed my friends. You wanted to us to harm other people just, so you could have control. You deserve to burn!” Chanyeol growled out furiously.

“Then do it, Agent 8. Burn me,” the Doctor said coaxingly. He has twisted smile, eyes slitting the reflection of Chanyeol’s realization dawning on his face.

_Burn him. Burn Kyungsoo._

Those words. Those are the same words that have haunted Chanyeol for the past decade. The reason he left everything behind. Chanyeol was going to burn the only person he ever loved because of that voice. Squeezing his eyes shut, Chanyeol pictures fires against his eyelids dwindling into smokestacks.

When he opens his eyes, and Chanyeol is no longer standing along the skybridge in Times Square. He’s back in the facility, remembering so vividly his last day on X2.

He stood fidgeting against the doorframe as Kyungsoo ripped another key foundation beam off the rafter. They were waiting for Jongdae and Jongin to appear and take them to where the rest of the group is at destroying the main structure in the center. Their plan was going perfectly. As long as Jongdae was able to rupture the base’s electricity creating a catastrophic explosion and Jongin was able to teleport fast enough with the help of Tao slowing down time, they would be fine.

Chanyeol felt like something wasn’t quite right.

“How’s your head, by the way?” Kyungsoo asked.

Chanyeol unconsciously reached out to rub the still tender spot at his neck, just above the knobs of his spine. He had taken a hard fall during training a few days ago, and skin was still bruised. “It’s better. I am just glad nothing was really damaged.”

“It could’ve been. It was a nasty fall. You really should have gone with the others,” Kyungsoo said. “It isn’t safe. What if a piece of the ceiling falls on you? Hurts you even more.” He gave Chanyeol his concerned look that made Chanyeol swell with happiness.

The hovering flames twitched. Chanyeol had placed them above their heads since the power went out due to Kyungsoo messing with the control panel and Jongdae screwing the facility’s powerhouse. The flickering candlelight gave their faces an orange hue. It made the sweat on the apples of their cheeks glow brightly.

“I know you’ll protect me,” Chanyeol responded smugly.

The amused glimmer in Kyungsoo’s eyes gave the fire wielder energy despite their life or death circumstances. “You sure about that?” he challenged back haughtily.

Their playful atmosphere lasted until they heard a distant crash. Looking off in the direction where the sound came from, Chanyeol’s flames dimmed. He could feel Kyungsoo’s eyes on him. They burned.

Chanyeol wanted to ask again if they could do this, could they all survive. They were so confident at the first thought of the idea. They had trained and trained to prepare for the day where they would save their planet from the threats, but they didn’t expect themselves to be threats.

They were supposed to protect their planet and become heroes. Instead of saving the world, they have to save themselves from the same people who gave them their powers.

“I can hear you thinking again,” Kyungsoo said, stepping over until he could curl his fingers around Chanyeol’s bicep.

Chanyeol felt the fire thrumming under his skin where Kyungsoo touched his suit. He pressed his lips together, head hanging forward. He felt guilty every time he doubted their plan, but no matter what happened, if they lost one single person, Chanyeol would think it is his fault. He knew himself; he would obsess over the details of what he could’ve done differently.

“Stop.” Kyungsoo curled his fingers under Chanyeol’s jaw, his thumb pressed into the softness of his cheek just where his mask stopped. “Stop thinking. We are going to escape, and we are going to be okay. You know how I know that?” Chanyeol did, he’s heard it multiple times, but he needed to hear it again until he felt it in his bones. “Because we are stronger together.”

It eased some of Chanyeol’s nerves, and he offered a small acknowledgement with a slight curl of his lips. Kyungsoo returned the look with a fuller smile, one that made Chanyeol’s stomach twisted around, different from the anxiousness that clenched over his ribs. It was the feeling he got when Kyungsoo was too close, when he wasn’t close enough.

Chanyeol couldn’t make water or fire out of it. It was consuming, constricting, exhilarating, and extremely terrifying. Kyungsoo made him feel like he was dipped in flames, but his lungs were buried in gallons of water. Chanyeol felt a fraction of the same gut-wrenching fear when his power became too strong.

He had control of his power. He made mistakes once in a while when he his power surged up his chest through his throat and fingertips. Chanyeol had to practice calming himself when he got angered and scared, but Kyungsoo didn’t make him feel angered, only scared in the sense that Chanyeol was scared of himself. It was becoming harder each day when Chanyeol noticed the shift in their relationship, when touches lasted longer, when Chanyeol needed more, when Kyungsoo got this look in his eye that pinned Chanyeol to the wall.

Mixed with adrenaline of survival, Chanyeol really wasn’t sure if he could control his power anymore. The entire day his body was heated, jumpy, and sensitive.

A pop in the air, and Jongin was clutching onto Jongdae’s shoulder. Jongdae was doubled over, and Jongin was trying to catch his breath, floundering an arm out for Chanyeol and Kyungsoo to grab. “We have to hurry,” Jongin urged.

In a blink, they were standing beside the rest of the team, scrambling for the only other exit they knew of since Kyungsoo blocked off the other one: the loading deck.

“We need to teleport, Jongin!” Baekhyun bellowed over their thundering footsteps. His whole body was aglow, lighting their way.

Whoever was running at the front stopped, making the rest come to a halt. Their heavy inhaled fill the hallway.

“We can’t teleport. Not yet. Jongdae has to give one final blow and this place will explode. We need to hurry, I think they called national security saying we are a threat. They could be here any time soon. The loading deck has a control panel that is directly connected to main energy source, but if national security comes, they’ll arrive there.” Jongin explained.

“Then let’s try to get there before they do.” Joonmyun nodded.

Chanyeol stayed in the back as the turned corners to the loading deck. They were close to the loading deck when he recognized the whirring of an aircraft and storming shouts.

“Stay close!” someone shouted. Chanyeol couldn’t tell who it was. His mind was racing with noises, the intensity to burn growing in his gut, and fear.

They busted through the doors to the deck, and all at once colors of laser guns shot across the room, a wind storm picked up, a wall of ice protecting them. Jongdae made a mad dash for the control panel on the second level with Joonmyun watching his back. The others tried to fend off the continuous flood of securing pouring out of docking aircrafts.

Chanyeol saw the door to the dock closing. Turning wildly to where Jongdae’s silhouette was in the control panel, Chanyeol ducked where a bullet passed his head and ran to the manual display to open and close the door. He was separated from his group, and he might be jeopardizing his opportunity at escaping. But it might mean safety for his team, then the sacrifice would be worth it.

He wrapped his fingers on the weighted chain the jangles as the large metal door was rolling down. He placed all his weight on the chain to slow it down. His biceps bulged, and the metal groaned. Looking around, Chanyeol watched his team members use their powers to fight back.

Who would’ve thought that their epic battle would be against their own people and not a valiant sacrifice?

He spotted Yixing trying to use his contact fighting skills, but the butt of a gun slammed on his head. Chanyeol raised on hand, quivering as a wild lick of fire caught on the attacker’s body. Yixing stumbled back, shocked. His eyes were wide when they turned to Chanyeol, questioning.

The release of heat seemed to have broken through Chanyeol’s gate. His body seized with the need to light anything near on fire. Chanyeol lost his grip on the chain, dropping down and trembling backward, unbalanced. His vision was hazy when he looked up at the chain, now completely melted through.

Glancing at his hands, fire was flickering at his fingertips, the skin a violent red. He couldn’t control it anymore, the heat was unguarded, flaring and pulsing. It flew out of his skin, numbing him. He tried to grasp the invisible ties that held him and the flames together, but it felt like his hands were slippery.

His eyes were unfocused, staring at tips of flames turning white as sparks shot out and caught on the walls, igniting a trellis of fire. Chanyeol was shaking, his terror fueling the fire. He couldn’t see the rest of the team, gaze covered in ash now despite his mask being on and could only listen to the metal grinding of the door collapsing and shouts. He was alone, possibly left to be consumed in his own destruction by an orange and blue halo surrounding him.

Falling to the ground, he had never seen his power get out of hand like this or this angrily hot. He couldn’t control himself. He felt like a young boy again, bruised and burned until he could tame the swelling warmth. He was going to destroy himself and possibly everyone else in the vicinity. Behind his eyelids was the swarming colors of his flames. The heat scorched his vulnerable cheeks. It felt like he was being burned alive.

 Cool fingertips curled around his nape making the flames splutter. Chanyeol whipped around only to be lost in the orange haze reflected in Kyungsoo’s eyes. He was sure Kyungsoo could see all the vulnerability Chanyeol felt, could tell how lost Chanyeol suddenly was, and he dragged his hand up to cup Chanyeol’s jaw.

Bending down, Kyungsoo leaned close, mouthing words that took Chanyeol a moment to hear and process, “It’s okay. It’s okay. You’re safe. Chanyeol. Chanyeol, look at me.” He coaxed with a sweet voice.

_It’s okay. It’s okay. You’re safe._

It was a bit too pitchy for Kyungsoo’s normal rich, deep tone, or maybe the blood in Chanyeol’s ears was blocking him from properly registering the sound. “You’re safe with me. They’re not going to get you,” he repeated.

Chanyeol could only see tongues of fire in Kyungsoo’s brown orbs. He tried to focus on the gentle touch of the Kyungsoo’s hand, caressing his face and drawing circles in his hair, but his body tensed. Kyungsoo. _Fire. Flames. Burn. Burn Kyungsoo._

Chanyeol didn’t realize Kyungsoo had taken off his mask until the stench of smoke stifled his nostrils. He tried to follow Kyungsoo’s face, to read whatever emotion he saw on Chanyeol’s face, but Kyungsoo was too close. His eyelids fluttered down, extinguishing whatever blaze Chanyeol saw before lips were on his.

It was soft, short. Kyungsoo’s mouth covered Chanyeol’s moving so carefully as if Chanyeol would break. Chanyeol could only gasp and melt because this was what he’s been waiting for, but they had waited too long. This kiss tasted of the bitter, ashy air as Kyungsoo’s tongue dipped into the part of Chanyeol’s lips. It built heat in Chanyeol’s chest, ready to transfer his power into an object.

 _Burn him. Burn Kyungsoo._ The voice in Chanyeol’s head was deep and demanding. It took everything of Chanyeol’s will to not listen to it.

Chanyeol’s hands came up to grip Kyungsoo’s arms, holding him tightly. He tentatively separated his lips with enough space for their tongues to meet scarcely. Chanyeol gasped when he saw the billowing clouds of an explosion in his head, Kyungsoo’s body starkly dark against the brightness of the flames. Jerking Kyungsoo back, he expelled the heat in his chest at the nearest aircraft, a waft of heat made them stumble back.

“Go!” Jongdae hollered, jumping down onto the deck and running directly for Chanyeol and Kyungsoo. The others sent their last efforts to defend themselves before joining in a mad dash for the half-opened gate. Jongin was there, leading the group.

Chanyeol saw it in slow motion: Kyungsoo holding onto him, the force of their bodies colliding as they were sent flying out the door, down a straight drop into the rocks below, Chanyeol’s fingertips stretching to just barely skim Jongin’s elbow. Then, nothing.

 

 

 

Chanyeol’s eyes flash, darkening. The fire against his arms spits. “You. You’re the voice. You told me to kill Kyungsoo!”

The Doctor hacks into a mad cackle, “You’re finally realizing? I didn’t think you were that thick, but I have assumed wrong before. Yes, Chanyeol. I am the voice.”

“But—” Chanyeol licks over his lips, chapped from the heat radiating off his body. “How? How’d you get in my head?”

“Come on, Agent 8. Use your brain.”

Chanyeol thinks to when Baekhyun and Luhan exploited the facility’s plans. “The chip… But I didn’t get inserted with one. I would’ve remembered that.” Chanyeol shook his head. He could hear the sounds of his team members below trying to search from him.

“Yes, you would remember it unless you were unconscious.” The Doctor points out, tone growing flat as if the conversation is boring him.

Chanyeol had gotten hurt the few days before they escaped and had to go to medical wards. He had spent the night there and was told he’d feel stiffness in his neck. It wasn’t a coincidence. “I’ve had a chip in me this whole time?”

“It was inactive since you all destroyed my life’s work, but luckily I had another back up plan in case you tried to turn against me which you did. I unfortunately did not get the opportunity to plant chips in the rest of the agents, but I got to meddle with one of the strongest.”

Chanyeol’s eyes water with rage thinking of the years he wasted because he thought his power would consume Kyungsoo if they got to close. The temperature rises intensely, the glass of the skybridge shattering at surge of heat. The sound of the explosion draws the attention of the others.

The Doctor laughs once more, knowing Chanyeol’s thoughts. He raises one hand, and Chanyeol is sent flying back by an invisible force, crashing into the counter of a café inside the building. Chanyeol’s vision is scattered with black dots, groggily clearing only to the skybridge that has been ripped off the metal beams.

He can feel the vibrations that match the roaring scrape of metal crunching and the sparse shouts of his team. Rising slowly, Chanyeol adjusts his glassware that got skewed in the fall and heads back for the street. His steps are heavier on his right side, supporting a limp.

As soon as he steps out onto 7th Avenue, the Doctor stands on top of carpeted bleacher chairs in front of the blurry Coke advertisement. He dodges spears of ice and swords of lightning while Baekhyun speeds around with illusions of them from all angles. The Doctor definitely seems unsettled by their attack, but he is controlled when he fires back with his own defense.

The ground crumbles underneath Chanyeol’s feet until the black pavement is cracking beside him until Kyungsoo is standing beside him with his lips pressing together.

“Are you okay?” His fingers just barely make contact the Chanyeol’s bare skin at his nape.

A car comes flying at Joonmyun, who has finished putting frozen humans into Starbucks. He freezes in shock. Just seconds before he is crushed, Jongin appears by his side, disappearing just as the car crunches against the ground.  

Chanyeol doesn’t know if they will live or die today, but he’s going to make sure the Doctor won’t succeed in any of his plans. Peeling off one of his gloves, Chanyeol reaches out to entwine his fingers with Kyungsoo’s. The earth wielder doesn’t acknowledge the action, focused on the fight ahead. Chanyeol squeezes just lightly, feeling his chest tighten, drawing the warmth coming from around him.

“I love you,” Chanyeol says, keeping his face forward.

In the corner of his eye, he sees Kyungsoo turn to look at him.

“I love you.” Chanyeol repeats. “I’m not sure if I’ll get to say it again, but I needed you to know that I’ve loved you for years, and I never stopped.”

A hand is in his hair before Chanyeol can think, knocking his mask off his face, and fingers are gripping harshly at the strands as a pressure ignites over his lips. Chanyeol’s eyes flutter shut at the sight of Kyungsoo squeezing his own tightly shut and so close. Chanyeol wraps his arms around the other, hands pressed into the muscles of Kyungsoo’s lower back, as if letting go means a farewell of sorts.

The kiss is rough and salty. It’s quick and rushed, and it’s a bad kiss, Chanyeol admits, but he feels complete, full, warmed from his head to his toes. The fire isn’t overwhelming this time; it is hungry, but not to consume; to flourish, to protect. To love.

Their lips mold together, so slick and wet that Chanyeol doesn’t notice he is the one crying until Kyungsoo sucks his lower lip between his teeth, tongue just barely soothing over the cracks of skin. Kyungsoo’s fingers massage Chanyeol’s neck, drawing him down so Kyungsoo can relax on the balls of his feet.

Chanyeol doesn’t realize he feels a new wave of heat touching his skin, warming the apples of his cheeks or that the ground is rumbling intensely. He doesn’t care about anything for the span of a few seconds or maybe a minute as he parts his lips willingly for Kyungsoo to lick into his mouth. He full body shudders when their tongues meet or maybe that was the earth.

Blinking, Chanyeol parts, looking over Kyungsoo shoulder to see a fissure deep and jutting across the center of the street. Deep in the crevice is the bright orange of molten, slushy and gushing over the edge.

Turning back to Kyungsoo, Chanyeol doesn’t see the destruction of his power in Kyungsoo’s eyes. He sees concern, fear, and Chanyeol’s own reflection.  Chanyeol’s spent all this time terrified that he would erupt with fire if he got too close to Kyungsoo. He was scarred when all he could see was his power flickering in Kyungsoo’s irises dangerously. But now he knows he didn’t need to be, except for the fact they just conjured up a volcano, but they can work on that.

“Guys! We’re trying to save the world here!” Minseok yells from where he stands on tops a bus shooting arrows of icicles.

“Don’t die,” Chanyeol says giddily.

Kyungsoo rolls his eyes. “Took you long enough.”

“Sorry,” Chanyeol apologizes, cocking his head to the side. A lightning bolt zooms past them. “I’ll explain later.”

“You better,” Kyungsoo threatens, their fingers linking again.

Chanyeol brings his wristband to his lips. “Let’s do this,” he says. “Baekhyun, keep it up with the illusions. Joonmyun, come from the opposite direction Kyungsoo and I coming.”

Kyungsoo lunges. The fissure continues to split straight down until it reaches the set of bleachers where the Doctor stands. Chanyeol surges with heat, lava shooting up and spitting out. It catches onto some of the tables around, plastic melting immediately.

Joonmyun comes from the side with a wave of water, crashing and turning a grimy black. Together they aim their elements at the man to where he is unable to escape from where he stands. Before their eyes, the man lifts to the air, hovering with his arms spread open and tables, signs, and shuttering cars collect above him.

Chanyeol curses. “I can’t get the lava up there. It’s too dense.”

Kyungsoo nods, perspiration stuck to his temple. “We need to split up. I’ll stay back and try to dislodge from the sky.”

Chanyeol immediately wants to disagree, but he has unfinished business. “Please be careful.” He presses one last kiss to Kyungsoo’s lips.

 “I should be saying that to you,” Kyungsoo replies, a line forming between his eyebrows.

Shaking his arms, a blaze traipses down his arms in a wingspan of flames. Chanyeol marches forward never letting his eyes fall away from the Doctor.

The Doctor, too, notices Chanyeol coming his way with determined steps. Chanyeol knows he should try to block his thoughts, but he has one focus: ending it now. He shoots balls of fire at the Doctor, but easily evades everything.

Chanyeol makes a sound of frustration while ducking at a chair being tossed at him. He needs to isolate the Doctor. Chanyeol pulls all the heat from around him, coaxing it into a spark, until flames collect all around him and they are trapped in a dome of fire. Chanyeol’s never concentrated so much energy before. He feels the burn of exertion, muscles tensing to keep the fire from spreading. The heat so intense that Chanyeol feels like his skin is melting. All he can see are his flames.

“You’re not going to win, Agent 8,” The Doctor says. His voice is steady, melodious just like when he tried to convince Chanyeol to burn, but his eyes are wide, wildfires painting in the reflection of his irises. It fuels Chanyeol.

“I think you are outnumbered,” Chanyeol responds. “I can’t be burned anymore, but you can.” He makes the circle around them smaller.

“You don’t have to do this. There are other options.” The Doctor has to move a bit closer to keep the flames from catching on his cape.

“I can’t let anybody else die.”

Chanyeol clenches his fingers, ready. The fire urges him, licking in excitement.

“Even yourself?” The Doctor suddenly asks. A sick smile crawls up his face, and too many things happen at once for Chanyeol to recall again in chronological order.

The Doctor brandishes a knife from the inside of cape, pointed and spiraling directly at Chanyeol. Then, his flames disperse by a sudden burst of sharp wind that sends Chanyeol stumbling back. The knife narrowly misses sinking into Chanyeol’s stomach and only scrapes his side.

Sehun leaps between them, arms crooked as he spins, and Chanyeol can feel the roughness of the wind. The Doctor collapses to the ground heavily, eyes open wide, jaw loose, and blood pooling from his stomach. Sehun had slashed him with a blade of air.

Chanyeol watches Sehun slump to the ground in front of the Doctor, shaking visibly. Chanyeol winces when he sits up, but he crawls over to Sehun, trying not to look at how clean wind can cut. When he wraps an arm around the younger, Sehun curls into him, a sob escaping his lips.

“You’re okay. We’re safe now. We’re free,” Chanyeol soothes him while running a hand through Sehun’s hair. He’s not sure how long they stay crouched down, but Joonmyun eventually comes and drags Sehun away. Kyungsoo is there, ready to wrap Chanyeol in his embrace.

Chanyeol groans though when Kyungsoo squeezes too hard. Kyungsoo looks at his injury, but Chanyeol draws their lips to meet, both smiling too much for it to be a good kiss, but it tastes even sweeter than victory. Neither of them seems to care when the world finally starts revolving again, and people wander onto the streets to find the damage and nine oddly dressed superheroes. Chanyeol just keeps kissing Kyungsoo trying to make for all the years.

  


Chanyeol explains everything a week later in Kyungsoo’s farm house, sitting on the porch while drinking tea. He’s back in regular clothes, freed from spandex and chunky masks. He’s also free to kiss the earth wielder at any time, which he does at any moment.

“’Nine masked men save New York City and surrounding area from total destruction. Only 43 people are injured, no lives are lost. To the heroes that saved this country, we thank you.’ Aw, did you hear that, Soo?” Chanyeol waits to hear a confirmation before continuing, “Oh, five million dollars’ worth of damage. It’s not like they needed all the advertisements. And the Starbucks sign wasn’t a huge loss.”

Kyungsoo comes to sit on his lap. If anyone were to pass, they’d be scandalized by the intimate scene. Luckily, farm animals can’t speak. Chanyeol spreads his fingers over Kyungsoo’s thighs.

“It’s a big loss to those New Yorkers who only live and breathe coffee and air pollution.” Kyungsoo replies, pressing his forehead against Chanyeol’s. The sun is warm on their skin, but Chanyeol would rather concentrate on heat of Kyungsoo’s thighs flat on top of his own.

“Hi,” Chanyeol says softly.

“Hi.” Kyungsoo rolls his eyes but smiles softly anyways. It’s the smile that has Chanyeol feeling all melty inside. Their lips meet, just a peck. Chanyeol will never get tired of the feeling or the desire to chase after for more.

“Remember where I said if I could go anywhere?”

Chanyeol hums in response, resting his head on Kyungsoo’s collarbone. Kyungsoo plays with the curls of his hair. “You said you would go home.”

“I meant you,” Kyungsoo presses his lips to the side of Chanyeol’s head. “I’d go anywhere with you. I said that to myself even before we left the facility. I wanted to make you wanted it too.”

Chanyeol meets Kyungsoo’s gaze, and it doesn’t even feel long since Chanyeol first knew he loved Kyungsoo. It’s still so fresh and fills Chanyeol’s stomach with swarming butterflies. “I’d go anywhere with you too. I kind of have to since I don’t have an apartment anymore. Ow!”

Kyungsoo pulls on his ear, “You never shut up when you need to. You just have to keep going and ruin it, don’t you?”

“It’s part of my charm,” Chanyeol whines, his lower lip jutting and catching on the column of Kyungsoo’s neck.

“So, what if I said we return back to our planet?”

“What for?” Chanyeol blows air onto Kyungsoo’s skin, causing Kyungsoo to pull his ear again.

“We don’t have to hide here anymore, and I haven’t seen my family in over twenty years. I don’t know. I just feel like it is the right decision. What do you think?”

“Sure. Let’s go. I told you, I’m not leaving you aga-mmrph.” Chanyeol is cut off by Kyungsoo’s lips instant and demanding on his.

Chanyeol melts into a puddle then and there as Kyungsoo deepens the kiss with a tongue scrambling all his thoughts. Kyungsoo kisses with power and leads Chanyeol where he needs to go. He takes greedily while trying to match the pace with double the enthusiasm.

Kyungsoo slides off his lap, taking Chanyeol with him just to keep feeling those soft lips on his in teasing nips and tugs. Chanyeol presses Kyungsoo against the railing, crotches meeting. Chanyeol breaks away to moan before Kyungsoo’s mouth is claiming his again, hands touching everywhere.

“Will you burn down my house if we have sex?” Kyungsoo says with glossy, fuchsia lips.

“Wha-” Chanyeol blinks, brain not functioning. “I don’t think so?”

“I guess we will test out this theory.” Kyungsoo hooks his hands under Chanyeol’s knees and lifts him up. Chanyeol yelps, holding on tightly as Kyungsoo carries him inside the house and up the stairs to his bedroom. Chanyeol expects gravity to push him down into the mattress, but Kyungsoo sets him down gently crawling over him.

When Kyungsoo’s hands roam Chanyeol’s bare chest for the first time, it feels like Kyungsoo can wield fire too. Kyungsoo prepares him with lots of kisses that Chanyeol can hardly pay attention to with unfamiliar feeling of being opened up. When Kyungsoo finally slides into him, cock hot and heavy, Chanyeol may set the entire place ablaze.

Kyungsoo, who has been composed the entire time, seems to crumble as well when he finally thrusts so slow and deep. Chanyeol keens, fire licking up his spine. He holds Kyungsoo close, legs falling open wider each time, nails digging into the muscles of Kyungsoo’s shoulder.

It feels like the earth is shaking or maybe Chanyeol is shattering or maybe they are both an inferno, numb to heat that trails over their skin. It bites and it stings and it bruises. Chanyeol’s never felt so deliriously happy that he gets close to crying or maybe he is crying and Kyungsoo is kissing over the trails over tears whispering how much he loves him.

“I love you too,” Chanyeol manages to say in between moans. He gasps, sparks simmering in his groin, a full body shudder.

Kyungsoo rocks into him faster, “Close. ‘M close.”

They come one right after another. Chanyeol breaking first with Kyungsoo tugging on his cock and his thrusts accurate and stutter.

Kyungsoo falls with half his body covering Chanyeol’s. “The house is standing,” Kyungsoo comments lightly.

Chanyeol chuckles. “And in perfect condition too. So, we summon Jongin now or…?”

Kyungsoo smacks Chanyeol hard on the chest as the fire wielder guffaws loudly. “I take it back. I don’t want to go anywhere with you.”

Chanyeol smirks. “Fine by me. I wouldn’t mind just staying right here with you.”

“I’ll stay right here for now. I’m tired.” Kyungsoo yawns and tucks himself around Chanyeol.

  


Chanyeol and Kyungsoo hold hands while standing on an unfamiliar street. Jongin, who teleported back to X2, already disappeared saying that Joonmyun and Sehun just moved into a complex near there. Joonmyun and Yixing were the first ones to return, right after the death of the Doctor. They had already talked with leader of the planet, explaining the truth about what occurred at the facility. The government had generously offered them all jobs and a place to live when they returned.

“Well, where do we go next?” Chanyeol asks, grinning over at Kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo looks at the two different addresses Joonmyun had given them a week ago. “No idea.”

They have a whole new world to discover that should be familiar to them.

Chanyeol gently squeezes Kyungsoo’s hand. “How about dinner? I’m starving.”

Kyungsoo laughs, relaxing. “That sounds nice.”

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Some interesting extras:  
> \- I really wanted to name this fic having to do with volcanos like “Composite” because that’s the most explosive, but it sounds dumb. I also thought “I Lava You” like the cute Disney short, but this isn’t not as sweetly angsty as it. Also, the title is too cute for this.  
> \- I wish I could’ve added a cute scene of kid exo showing their powers or playing around with them  
> \- I didn’t think of Sehun saving the until writing mid-way through the fight scene. It gave him the conclusion he needed to start overcoming his childhood trauma. Also, sorry to Sehun who had to be the most traumatized. His backstory is that he was severely the younger than the rest when he got experimented on and almost didn’t survive, but he did, and it stunted his development with his power which made the officials very frustrated.  
> \- Did y’all note the slight seho? IM A PURE SOFT STAN  
> \- The experiments take place over a series of years, so not everyone was tested at the same time. It was kind random, I suppose.  
> \- Also, parents, whose kids were chosen for the experiments, knew vaguely what the operation was and knew there was no guarantee of their kid’s survival. They did it because it was such an honor to have their own be chosen to protect their country, kind of like the ideals of samurai, but also not at all.  
> \- All the locations and coordinates, I researched and carefully chosen. I turned into a nerd for this fic and I am proud.  
> \- Their headquaters is actually a hidden bunker. It is currently used as an art gallary, but before it was thought to be used during Park Chung Hee's time in office for security reasons. For purposes of the story, I expanded the actual space, despite the actual gallary is fairly small.


End file.
